A Grocery Encounter
by Talipatra
Summary: Bella's roommate Rose drags her out grocery shopping one cold winter night.
1. Chapter 1: A Regular Guy

I hate grocery shopping," I whined, pushing the cart behind Rose as we walked down the aisle. "Why can't we get it delivered or something?"

"Because." She paused and picked up two cans of soup, comparing ingredients or something.

"Because? That's all I get?"

"Yep." She tossed one of the cans in the cart and put the other one back on the shelf. She started down the aisle and I made a face at her back.

"But why do I have to come? You know what I'll eat, why can't you just buy it and I'll pay you back?"

"Because you need to get off your ass once in a while. Besides, this way I get the pleasure of your company. Stop sticking your tongue out at me."

I froze and slowly pulled my tongue back in. How did she do that? I pushed the cart behind her sullenly. When she wasn't paying attention, I pulled out my cell phone and called up my email. I was scrolling through it when she snatched it out of my hand.

"No email, no phone unless you're calling someone. You are spending quality time with me, dammit."

I scowled at her. "Are we at least almost done?" I demanded.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, we're done. Lead the way to the front, oh whiny queen bitch."

I stuck my tongue out at her again and started for the front of the store. It wasn't crowded, luckily, but unluckily there was only one register open. I got in line behind a couple of guys buying beer, chips, and toilet paper and an old woman who looked like she was paying for everything with quarters. I tried to grab my phone back for some entertainment but Rose stuck it down the front of her pants.

"Don't think I won't go after it," I threatened.

She grinned. "I know you won't, Bella."

I stamped my foot. "This is so unfair! I was in the middle of something!"

"And it's still waiting for you."

"You stopped the creative juices flowing."

"They'll start again," she said absentmindedly, picking up a TV Guide and leafing through it.

I sighed and craned my neck to see the front of the line. No movement. I clucked my tongue impatiently and turned to the magazine rack.

All the covers had Edward Cullen's face on them. He'd just finished filming something apparently and was now making the talk show and magazine rounds. I picked one up and snorted. It had a picture of Edward and his costar, Jessica Stanley. They were dressed up and she was hanging all over him at one of the premiers.

"'Our love is forever'" I read aloud. I turned to Rose. "Can you believe this crap? Who buys this garbage anyway?"

She narrowed her eyes at me and held up a different magazine with Edward's face on it. "I do."

I stared at her in shock. "Seriously? Why?"

"Because I'm nosy, that's why."

I stared at the magazine and shook my head. "I don't get it. I mean, why him?"

"Are you kidding me?" she demanded with a laugh. "Have you _seen_ him?"

I sighed. "Ok, yes, he's every girl's wet dream and he's not a bad actor, but for crying out loud, let the guy live his life. Do I need to know his underwear choice or what he eats for breakfast? No. Nor do I need to know the intimate details of his sex life."

"Oh god, if they had _intimate_ details I would die a happy woman."

I gave Rose a look. "Put yourself in his shoes," I continued. "You're already gorgeous, what if you got discovered or something and became famous. Would you want to constantly be answering questions about who you're dating or running down the street every time you get a cup of coffee or constantly defending your right to put on a couple pounds?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "No," she said sullenly.

"Exactly." I tucked the magazine back in the rack. "I say let him be."

Rose looked at the magazine longingly before sighing and putting it back. "I should have left you at home."

I grinned triumphantly and turned back towards the front of the line. One of the guys was grinning at the other one. Obviously he'd been listening in on our conversation.

"Do you agree with me?" I asked, bringing him into it.

He laughed. "I guess, but fans like to know what's going on in their idol's life."

"But as the idol, wouldn't you want to be able to keep things private once in a while? I mean, seriously, how often do you think Edward Cullen gets to go to the grocery store and buy beer like you two are doing?" I pointed to the two cases in their cart. "He probably has to hire people to do it for him."

"Or wear silly disguises," said the second guy dryly.

I laughed. "Yeah, sure, that too. I guess he could hide his hair under a wig or a hat, but isn't his face pretty recognizable?"

The first guy laughed again. Clearly there was some joke here between the two of them since the second guy kept shooting the first guy dirty looks. The first guy stuck out his hand.

"I'm Emmett," he said with a grin.

I grinned back. "I'm Bella, this is my roommate Rose."

Rose reached past me to shake Emmett's hand, leading with her boobs. I rolled my eyes and stepped out of the way. I looked up at the second guy who was the same height as Emmett, but with a leaner build.

Both guys were obviously athletic in some way, but Emmett looked like a football player and the other guy looked like a soccer player or something: muscular, but leaner. They were both wearing jeans, t-shirts and jackets and the second guy had a baseball cap pulled down low over his eyes, some tufts of bronzy hair sticking out around the edge.

"So what's your name stranger?" I grinned.

He rolled his eyes. Emmett stepped forward then to check out as the old lady slowly made her way out of the store. "I'm Anthony," he said, holding out his hand.

I shook it. "So are you two having a party or something?"

"No, just thirsty and craving salty snacks."

"Priorities. I like it."

He grinned. "You look like you're just stocking up for the week."

"Something like that."

He nodded and stepped up to stand with Emmett. Rose and I started to unload our cart onto the belt while Anthony pulled out a credit card to pay for their things.

"Have you ladies eaten dinner yet?" asked Emmett suddenly.

I jerked my head up with surprise. "Seriously?"

He shrugged. "Sure, why not? We'll go someplace well lit if you want."

"We'd love to," said Rose quickly. I turned to stare at her.

"We're buying perishables, Rose, we need to go home."

"So we can meet them later." She beamed up at Emmett. "I know a great little café near here that's open late."

Emmett beamed back. Anthony and I exchanged annoyed glances.

"Great. What's your number?" Emmett pulled out his phone and Rose pulled out hers. They exchanged phones and punched in their numbers. I looked at Anthony.

"I'd offer you my number but my phone is in Rose's pants."

Anthony grinned and shook his head. "I don't have my phone on me anyway. I keep it in Emmett's pants."

I laughed. I was starting to like Anthony.

"You know," said Rose suddenly as she rummaged through her purse to find her wallet "Bella, you and Anthony could go on to the restaurant while Emmett and I went back to the house to unload all the groceries."

I shot her a look. "If we're splitting up, Anthony and I are going to the house."

"Why?"

"Because I won't stop for a quickie."

Rose's jaw dropped and Emmett's face turned red. Anthony threw his head back and roared with laughter. I looked up at him.

"Interested in taking a complete stranger back to her house to put her groceries away and then go to dinner?"

"Sure, why not. I've got nothing else of interest going on this evening." He grinned at me and there was something oddly familiar about his face. I stared at it for a bit and he quickly looked away.

Emmett and Rose had loaded everything into one cart at this point and were pushing their way out of the store. I was looking up at Anthony curiously while he pointedly looked straight ahead. I turned to double check I wasn't about to face plant into anything and my eyes caught another magazine with Edward Cullen's face on it. My jaw dropped and I looked up at Anthony again.

"Ho-ly shit," I whispered.

A muscle in his jaw worked. I walked along side him in silence for a while, going over the few things I knew about him from Rose's obsession. I glanced up at him with a sly grin.

"Has anyone ever told you you look a hell of a lot like Edward Cullen?"

His step faltered and a grin spread across his face. "No, actually."

"It's uncanny," I continued, hugging my chest against the cold as we stepped outside. "I mean, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were him. You could get into the impersonation business, show up at parties and shit."

He chuckled and nodded. "I'll have to look into it."

Rose and Emmett were loading everything into our car, talking animatedly. They were really hitting it off. Rose turned as we strolled up.

"Ok, you go to the house, we'll be at Magnolia, ok?"

I nodded and held out my hand. "Can I have my phone now?"

She rolled her eyes and shoved her hand down the front of her pants, pulling it out and handing it to me.

"Ooo, warm. Just how I like it." I stuck it in my bra and laughed at the expression on Emmett and "Anthony's" faces. "Come on, Tony, let's go to my place and then go get some food."

He nodded and started for the passenger side while I dug the keys out of my purse. He buckled himself in and I adjusted the seat for my height from Rose's Amazon size and started off.

"So are you going to tell people?" he asked when we were on the street hurtling towards the house.

I grinned. "I totally should. All my girlfriends are obsessed with you."

He grunted. "And you're not?"

I smiled. "You heard me in the store, right? I think you're good looking and all, but I like to think I don't have an obsessive personality."

"I believe the phrase you used was 'wet dream.'"

"Eavesdropping, wow, I would _not_ have pegged you for that."

He grinned. "I couldn't help it, you were talking about me like I wasn't there."

I laughed. "Well, I guess I'll have to double check my surroundings when I begin discussing my opinions on celebrities from now on."

"I guess you will."

I pulled up to the house then and into the driveway. I cut the engine and we piled out, grabbing bags and hurrying towards the door. It was starting to snow and I hated being out in the cold and snow more than just about anything. I quickly put the perishables away, even making space in the fridge for the beer.

While I was rearranging and putting things away, Edward shrugged out of his jacket and took mine, hanging them on the hooks by the door. He then wandered around our living room, looking at the pictures on the walls and mantle, perusing the books and DVD's on the shelves.

"So whose copy of _Army of Darkness_ is this?"

I laughed. "That's mine. One of my all time favorites."

"Really?" he looked at me with a grin. "So what is your all time favorite?"

I flushed slightly. "It's probably the last thing you'd ever guess."

"So not something girly then."

"Nope." I opened a carton of milk and sniffed it. It was definitely bad. I set it on the counter to dump.

"Do I get a hint or do I just have to look at all the movies on the shelf and take a stab at it?"

I laughed. "I doubt you'd ever guess it so I'll just tell you. I _adore_ _Jaws_."

He came into the kitchen then. "Seriously?"

I nodded. "Yeah. First time I saw it was in high school and I just loved it. I can hear a snippet of music and maybe dialogue and tell you exactly where you are in the movie."

"That's a gift."

"It really is," I grinned. "What's your favorite?"

He groaned. "I don't want to say."

I turned to face him full on. "Oh, now you've got to tell me."

"It's not manly."

"So? You're known for your sensitive and brooding roles, not your hardcore badassness."

He grinned and took the cap off the milk and started pouring it down the drain. "I really love _Much Ado About Nothing_, the Kenneth Branaugh version."

"Shut up, really?"

He nodded. "I would love to do something Shakespeare someday, but I'm not sure I'd be that great at it. I'm great at brooding, all you have to do is furrow your forehead and look like your dick is in a vise. Shakespeare takes skill."

I chuckled. "I think you could do it. If Keanu could do it, you could too."

"Thanks…I think."

I grinned and stood back to survey the fridge. It was definitely full now. I couldn't remember the last time it had been that full. Probably last time one of our moms had visited.

He wandered into the hallway, poking his head curiously into the first bedroom, mine. "Who lives like a slob?

I squeezed past him and pulled the door shut. "Are you always this nosy?" I demanded, flushing slightly. I hadn't cleaned my room in a while so there were piles of clothes on the floor and some dirty dishes on the desk and dresser.

"Sometimes." He grinned down at me. "So I'm guessing that's your room."

"It is," I replied, pushing him back towards the living room. God, he had a great feeling body under that shirt.

"Embarrassed?"

"A little."

He laughed. "Don't be. My rooms are always trashed. I'm generally too exhausted to do anything but sleep and eat after work."

"That's sad."

He shrugged. "That's life."

"Are you going to take some time off anytime soon?"

"I'd love to, but Emmett says I need to keep doing things while I'm still hot."

"So, what, you're going to turn into an ogre if you stop working?"

He grinned. "Something like that."

"So Emmett is your manager I guess?"

"Yeah, basically. He's my people."

I grinned. "I need some people."

"I'll be your people."

I looked up at him, caught off guard. "Is that some kind of double entendre?"

He shrugged. "Could be. Or, I could just be wanting a friend in town."

I grinned and grabbed our jackets; tossing him his while I pulled mine on. I flipped all the lights off and we headed out.

"So why beer, chips and toilet paper?" I asked curiously as we carted the chips and tp back to the car with us.

He laughed. "What else does a single guy need for a few days? I'll order in actual meals when I need them."

"So you're living here now?" I asked confused.

"No. Well, yes. Temporarily. I'm shooting a movie here."

"Where are you living?" I asked, pulling out the keys and unlocking the car.

"An apartment downtown. It's got an awesome view."

I grinned. "I'll bet. Do you like seeing the train tracks?"

"Highlight of my day. Texas is different from what I'm used to."

"It's different from what a lot of people are used to," I laughed. "Especially small town Texas." I climbed back into the car and shivered, cranking the heat back up to high as Edward climbed in, too.

"And, in case you were wondering, I wear boxers and typically eat Lucky Charms for breakfast. As for intimate details of my sex life…there hasn't been any in a while."

I grinned into the darkness. "None at all?"

"None at all."

"What about Jessica Stanley?"

He groaned. "See, after all that talk about letting me have a private life, you do want to know."

I laughed. "Oh come on, you just told me there hasn't been any in a while and yet all the tabloids are printing pictures of you two all over each other in various cities across the world. I have to believe that if you needed a little roll in the hay, she'd be happy to oblige."

He grimaced. "Oh, believe me, she would. I just can't stand her."

"Really?"

"She's a total bitch. She's got this whole good girl persona but she prides herself on the fact that she's slept with every costar she's had since she was 14."

"Shit."

"No lie."

"Does that include you?"

He sighed. "Not one of my prouder moments, but yes, that includes me."

"See, that doesn't really make her a bitch, just a slut."

"Well, she's a bitch too, believe me."

I grinned. "So when the series is all over you think you'll ever see her again?"

"Sure, in my nightmares."

I laughed and pulled into Magnolia's parking lot. "Well, I want to say now that your secret is safe with me, Anthony. I won't tell anyone about this. I'll let you have an evening of normalcy."

He smiled at me. "Thanks, Bella. That's really human of you."

I shrugged. "I try to be a credit to my species. Sometimes it works out."

We climbed out and started in to the restaurant. Emmett and Rose were already inside, leaning closer to each other than was really necessary. I made a face and headed towards them.

"Took you long enough," grinned Rose, sitting back slightly from Emmett. "Are you sure you didn't stop for a quickie?"

"I'm pretty sure. I think I'd remember it anyway. Tony, did we have sex?"

He scratched his chin thoughtfully as he sat in the dark corner. "I'm thinking not. Unless…wait, what do you call that thing where we took off our pants and you sat on me?"

"Oh, shit, yeah, that's totally sex." I tossed a balled up napkin at Rose and grinned. "So did you order already?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I got you your regular and Emmett picked out something for Anthony. And stop it with the ridiculous jokes. You're being a bad influence on Anthony. I'm sure he's probably completely normal when you're not around."

"Probably, but who wants to stay normal?" I asked, sipping my water.

Emmett was dying, he was laughing so hard. "I like you, Bella," he grinned at me.

I grinned back. "You're not so bad yourself, I guess. What do you do?"

"I'm a manager," he grinned, sitting back in his chair. "I take care of whiny people."

"Hey," protested Edward. "I'm not whiny."

Emmett shot him a look. "Sometimes you are."

Edward glared at him but sat back and stabbed the table with his fork. "Only cause you instilled in me unreasonable expectations. I think I need Bella around to keep me grounded."

Rose looked confused. "Emmett manages you, Anthony?"

There was an awkward pause. Apparently Emmett had figured out that I knew who Edward was, but Rose had been so caught up in Emmett she hadn't noticed Anthony was Edward Cullen. I raised my eyebrows at Emmett and Edward who exchanged glances.

"Um, yeah," said Edward finally. "He keeps me on task."

"So he's your boss."

A slow grin spread across Emmett's face. "I like the sound of that."

"No," Edward sounded annoyed. "I'm in charge; he's kind of like an overpaid personal assistant."

"I do a shit ton more than answer phone calls and make appointments."

"Yeah yeah." Edward glanced at the menu absentmindedly.

"So what do you do, then Anthony?"

I grinned, settling back in my chair. This could be interesting.

"I'm an actor," said Edward easily.

"Oh? Are you any good?"

I snorted into my water. Edward kicked me lightly under the table.

"I'm alright," he said, shooting me a look.

I grinned and shook my head. It would come out in a little while anyway, I wasn't totally sure why he didn't just come out with who he was already.

Rose looked back and forth between us confused. "What?"

I leaned across the table, glancing over at Edward and asking permission with my eyes. He sighed and nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and staring down at the table.

"Rose, who is your current celebrity crush?"

She looked even more confused. "Edward Cullen."

"Rose Hale, meet Edward Cullen," I said quietly, gesturing towards Edward.

He raised a hand in greeting as Rose stared at him. Her jaw dropped as the connection was made in her brain.

"Ho-ly shit," she breathed.

I nodded. "My sentiments exactly."

"What the fuck are you doing _here_?"

Emmett grinned. "He's shooting a movie. I'm in town to check up on him and he had jack shit in his house to eat. Lucky for me." He reached over and squeezed Rose's hand.

She was still gaping at Edward when our waitress came a few minutes later. I nudged Rose with my foot and she shook herself, sitting back and staring down at her plate of food like it was something she'd never seen before, even though she ate this at least once a week.

Emmett was grinning the whole time. Edward looked slightly uncomfortable and incredibly embarrassed. I was more along the lines of Emmett, enjoying the absurdity of the entire situation.

"So, you're Edward Cullen," Rose said finally. "THE Edward Cullen."

Edward nodded, taking a bite of his sandwich. "As far as I know, the only one, too."

"And you're here, at dinner, with me and my crazy ass roommate."

"Hey," I protested. She shot me a look and I sighed. "Ok fine."

Edward grinned. "Yes."

"Well tie me up and hose me down. This is probably the coolest thing that will ever happen in my life."

Edward choked on his sandwich. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Hey," she leaned forward, ignoring his question "you're British. Where's the accent?"

"I knew there was something else," I said triumphantly. "It's been bugging me that there was something off about you."

Edward grinned. "Yeah, I use my American accent when I'm incognito."

"You should develop a Texas twang," I grinned. "Then no one will suspect it's you. Plus, you could be a cowboy."

"What does a twang sound like?" asked Emmett curiously. "I guess like the Texans on TV?"

"Dude, go to the stockyards for an afternoon," laughed Rose.

I grinned. "No lie."

"Do you girls have it?"

Rose looked offended. "No, I'm from South Carolina. I have a Southern accent. It's more genteel."

"I'm Texan through and through," I grinned "but my mom's from the north and my parents spent a lot of time up there before I was born so my dad kind of lost his. I grew up without it in my natural speaking but I can slip into it."

"Oh really?" Edward looked intrigued. "Prove it."

I grinned and cleared my throat. "Well, today I went down to the Wal-Mart and got my ahl changed." I spoke with a flawless Texas drawl.

Edward stared at me blankly while Rose giggled and Emmett looked unsure.

"Ahl?" repeated Emmett.

I nodded. "Yeah, its whut makes the car werk."

"Oil!" said Edward triumphantly.

I grinned. "You are one smart cookie, I tell you what."

He grinned. "I like your Texas accent."

"Thanks." I laughed, slipping back into normal. "I can do a lot of accents, actually. Helps with my job."

"What do you do?" asked Edward curiously.

I grinned. "I'm the puppet master."

Emmett choked on his chips. "The puppet master?"

Rose pushed me lightly. "She runs the puppet program at the library. She writes little shows and creates the puppets and all that."

"That's pretty cool," Edward looked impressed. "Do you come up with original story lines or what?"

"Sometimes," I admitted. "I was in the middle of writing one when Rose dragged me out to the grocery store."

"You're welcome," Rose grinned.

I rolled my eyes at her and took a sip of my drink.

"So what do you do?" asked Emmett curiously, turning to Rose.

"I'm a teacher," she grinned. "Kindergarten."

"That's pretty cool."

She shrugged. "Sometimes it is. Other times I'm ready to knock some heads together."

Emmett laughed. "So no kids of your own?"

"Nope." Rose grinned at him and I made a face at Edward. He grinned.

"So you're both single then?" asked Edward casually.

"Painfully so," Rose laughed.

I shot her a look. "I'm not in any pain over it actually. At times, I quite enjoy it to be honest. I don't have to shave or put on make-up or do my hair if I don't want to. It's great."

"Sounds like you need a man who doesn't mind if you don't do that stuff," Emmett chuckled, glancing over at Edward who was looking down at the table with a small smile on his face.

I looked between them. "What?" I demanded.

Emmett grinned. "He was complaining in the grocery store about high maintenance women. He said he was ready for a girl who wanted to stay home and watch TV and eat grilled cheese sandwiches or something while wearing comfortable clothes but who could also clean up well."

Rose looked torn. I could tell she really wanted to claim that status for herself but she hated sitting at home all the time. She also hated grilled cheese. She looked over at me and started laughing.

"What?" I asked self-consciously, wiping at my face.

"You. Emmett just described you."

I frowned and looked down at myself. I was wearing my pajama pants, Capri length black sweat pants and a long sleeved pink t-shirt under a white hoodie.

"These are my working clothes," I said defensively, crossing my arms over my chest. "If I knew we were going out, I'd've changed into jeans or something."

"You had time at the house," she pointed out.

I clucked my tongue impatiently. "I'd already been seen like this, what's the point of changing?"

"Exactly," she said triumphantly.

I stared at her, confused. She reached over and lifted up my plate. "And what's this you're eating?"

I snatched my plate back from her. "Four cheese grilled cheese sandwich," I grumbled.

Edward was laughing now, shaking his head as he looked down at the table. "You sure seem to fit the mold for the first part, but do you clean up well?"

"Oh yeah," Rose pulled her purse into her lap and started rummaging through it.

"No, don't do it Rose," I warned her.

She ignored me and pulled out the photo she kept in her wallet strictly to embarrass me. She grinned triumphantly as she passed it to Emmett and Edward, both of whom raised their eyebrows and looked up at me quickly.

"This is you?"

"Great, thanks."

Edward laughed. "You look nice."

I sighed and reached across the table for the picture. It was the wedding of our third college roommate, Alice. Rose and I had been bridesmaids and had worn gorgeous red silk dresses. In the picture, our hair and make-up was still flawless so we looked phenomenal. It was later after hours of dancing and bride attending that we'd sweated off a lot of the make-up and tendrils had come loose. I smiled at the picture then handed it back to Rose.

"Why do you carry that thing around anyway?" I grumbled, breaking off a chunk of my sandwich and popping it in my mouth.

"Because you always dress like a frump and I like to remind myself that you can look nice."

"I do not dress like a frump," I protested. "I dress comfortably."

"Potato, potahto."

"Shut up."

Emmett and Edward were laughing again. I checked my watch and reached for my purse. "It's getting late, we should probably get going," I said, looking at Rose pointedly.

She looked at her watch and grimaced. "Yeah, I've got school tomorrow." She pulled out some money and dropped it on the table with mine. Edward and Emmett reached for their wallets but I waved them down.

"We've got you," I grinned.

"Are you sure? We can afford to pay for ourselves, you know." Edward winked at me.

I chuckled. "You're on my turf, home skillet. Next time I'm on your turf you can take me someplace fancy and pay."

He laughed. "Deal."

"What is your home turf anyway, Emmett?" asked Rose curiously as she pulled on her jacket.

"I'm from DC, Eddie here's from Chicago."

"Yeah, I know." She immediately flushed and cast a sidelong glance at Edward who grinned and reached over, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. I thought her head was going to explode.

"You know we're coming home with you, right?" he murmured in her ear.

Her eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, he left his underwear on the ceiling fan," I said, pulling my keys out of my purse.

"And I really hate going commando. It chafes."

Rose sighed. "You've corrupted him, Bella. He's now ruined for other women."

"Then my work here is done."

Emmett was laughing again. I wondered if he was ever unhappy. We piled into the two cars and headed back towards the house.

"So have I really corrupted you?" I teased as we pulled out of the parking lot.

Edward shook his head. "No, though you have definitely entertained me tonight."

"It's what I do. Really, it's what you do. You should entertain me for a change."

"How so?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Do you have any skills other than acting?"

"Well I'm a musician in my down time."

"Really? What instruments?"

He looked at me with surprise. "You don't know?"

"I'm not a stalker. I'm sure Rose does, though."

He chuckled softly. "I play piano and guitar."

"Are you any good?"

"I guess. They put a couple of my songs in the last movie."

"That sounds like you're good."

"Do you have a piano or a guitar at the house? I can perform an impromptu solo for you. Make it up on the spot even."

I laughed. "I have nothing. I can't play anything but the radio. Oh wait, I have a kazoo. I think it's broken. Can you work with that?"

"Are you kidding? I'm the kazoo master."

I grinned. "Awesome."

We pulled up in the drive beside Emmett's car and we all hurried inside out of the snow. I took the jackets and hung them up while Rose headed into the kitchen to get drinks. I moved past everyone to start cleaning up in my room a little.

I shoved dirty clothes into the closet and gathered up the dirty dishes. I carried them into the kitchen and dumped them in the sink then headed back to my room to pull the blankets up on the bed.

"Cozy."

I jumped and turned around. Edward was standing in the doorway looking around with interest, a beer in hand.

"You saw it earlier and commented on the mess," I pointed out.

"Yeah, I feel awful about that."

"Liar."

He shrugged and settled on my desk chair, picking up a framed photo of Rose, Alice and I from college. "Who's the pixie?"

I laughed. "She'd punch you if you called her that. Her name is Alice and she is the third in the Three Amigas."

"Cute."

"Married."

"Got it." He set the picture down and looked around my room. "You like red, I see."

"It's my favorite color." I stood awkwardly in the doorway. I was 25 years old, but I wasn't used to having men in my room. Ever. Well, at least not in a long time.

Edward didn't seem to notice my discomfort. He stood up and crossed to my bookshelves and started looking through them. "Interesting collection. Classics, mystery, romance…" he paused and pulled a book out. "_Sex with the King_?"

I grinned and crossed to stand next to him. "It's about royal mistresses throughout the ages. It's pretty interesting, actually. There's a companion to it, _Sex with the Queen_." I pulled it out and handed it to him. "You can borrow them if you want."

"I kind of do. Thanks." He grinned at me. "Is this your subtle way of ensuring that you'll see me again?"

I grinned back. "Maybe. You were the one who said you wanted to keep me around. I'm trying to help you out."

"You're my favorite Texan."

"Well, that's not saying much. I'm probably the only one you know."

"Details." He piled to books on the bed, then sat on the floor, his back against the bed, as he continued to look through my books. He pulled out a couple more to add to the pile on the bed. I sat next to him and rested my head back against the mattress, exhausted. I'd been up since 5 am helping Rose with some last minute class stuff. My neck was hurting in that position so I automatically rested my head on Edward's shoulder. After a minute, I realized what I was doing.

"Shit, sorry," I muttered, sitting up and rubbing my face. "I forgot you're not one of my boys."

He chuckled and put his arm around my waist. "Go ahead, its fine."

"Are you really this nice or are you just buttering me up so I don't sell your story to the tabloids?"

"You'll never know."

I rested my head back on his shoulder and closed my eyes. "How long are you here for?"

"A month."

I nodded. "So will you come around or are you going to call in some Hollywood hotties to keep you company?"

"I think I'll come around if I'm invited."

"Sure. Just know that we have to tell Alice. She'd kill us if she found out later you were here and we didn't tell her."

"Is she a screamer?"

"No. Well, I don't think so."

He chuckled again and I subconsciously scooted closer to him for warmth. His arm tightened around my waist. "Are you really this cuddly?"

"I am," I admitted. "Whenever I share a bed with someone I totally invade their personal space."

"I can't imagine many guys complaining about that."

"Oh they don't. The girls do."

He laughed. "So what if I stayed the night?"

I froze and sat up, looking at him. "Seriously? I'm not that kind of girl."

"I meant just sleep. I'm pretty sure Emmett and Rose are in for the night."

I grimaced. "Yeah, probably." I chewed on my lip. "I guess, being the celebrity, you can have the bed and I'll take the couch."

"I can share," he laughed.

"Or I can drive you home," I offered.

He rolled his eyes. "That too."

I yawned and stood up. I crossed to the window and peaked out. Everything was covered in a blanket of white and I could see the road shining icily in the street lights. "It looks like the roads are bad and I'm a shit driver in snow. I'm too tired to try to drive you home." I turned to him. "If we share, you keep everything to yourself, got it?"

He saluted me. "Aye aye."

I nodded and started towards the door. "I'm going to check on them."

He nodded and stood up, too. I headed into the living room. No one was there and I could see the door to Rose's room was closed when I passed it. I made a face at it and headed back to my room.

Edward was pulling his pants off and he froze when he saw me in the doorway. "I prefer not to sleep in jeans," he explained.

I nodded and flushed, turning around. "I'll give you some privacy then."

He laughed. "Probably the only one who would."

I listened to the rustling of fabric as he climbed into the bed. I peeked over my shoulder and he was sitting propped up against the headboard, reading one of the books from the pile. I toed off my shoes and pulled my bra off without taking off my shirt. Edward Cullen or no, I hated sleeping in a bra. I draped my hoodie on my desk chair and crawled in on the other side.

"I apologize in advance if I dry hump you in the night."

He raised his eyebrows. "That might happen?"

I sighed. "According to my last boyfriend, yes. So…be warned."

"What do I do about it?"

"Just push a pillow at me. I'll be fine."

He laughed. "Yeah, but will I? I don't think I've ever been accosted like that before."

"There's a first time for everything." I settled down in the covers, pulling them up over my shoulder, and tucked one pillow between my legs, hugging the one under my head. "Good night, Edward Cullen."

"Good night, Bella…what's your last name anyway?"

I laughed. "Swan."

"Good night, Bella Swan. Do you mind if I read?"

"Read away."

I was exhausted, but my mind was racing. What the hell? Edward Cullen was IN MY BED. I felt like I was living in some kind of fucking fairy tale or something. Either that or a poorly written romance novel. Shit like this didn't happen in real life.

I listened to him reading, quietly turning the pages and shifting slightly in the bed periodically. I was so glad I'd gotten a queen when we moved in. it was big enough we didn't have to touch, but not so big we were half a world apart. I groaned inwardly that I was this excited about being so close to Edward Cullen. I tried to convince myself it was just because of the lack of male attention for the past two years other than the fact that it was Edward Cullen in my bed.

Eventually, he set the book down on the nightstand and flipped off the lamp. He shifted in the bed and I could feel the heat radiating off his body as he settled down beside me. We lay in silence for a bit before:

"You're still awake aren't you."

I sighed and rolled over, facing towards him in the dark. "Yes."

"Is it because I was reading?"

"No."

"So it's because I'm here?"

"You're accent is back."

"You're avoiding the question."

I laughed softly. "Maybe."

"Are you scared of me? You're the one who's going to jump me in the night."

I laughed again. "I'm just freaking out a little that you are who you are and you are where you are."

"I'm just a guy, Bella. Maybe a little better looking than others, but still just a guy."

I sighed. "You're just a guy, sure, but you're also a fucking international superstar/heartthrob/sex god. And you're in my bed in your underwear."

He laughed then. "Yeah, this evening did not turn out how I thought it would. I rarely end up in bed with a woman while wearing underwear. If there's a woman in my bed, typically we're both naked."

"Thanks for that mental image," I grumbled. "Or I guess for that put down."

"No, I didn't mean it that way." He sighed and I could see his hands moving to his head in the dim light from outside. "I respect you too much to try to sleep with you hours after meeting you."

I snickered and he chuckled too at his choice of words. "Ok, have sex with you, happy?"

"Sure." I closed my eyes and thought for a while. "So what kind of girl do you not respect enough to have sex with her?"

"Girls like Jessica Stanley."

I laughed and pushed his chest slightly. "Goober."

"Hey, that's the kind of girl you find all over LA. Really, that's the kind of girl I meet all the time. You've been a refreshing change. I don't often meet a puppet master with a wicked sense of humor who is basically my ideal girl in nearly every way."

"What ways do I fail?" I asked curiously.

He was quiet. "Well, I don't know about your family and we had a great time tonight, but who knows, if we continued, further on down the road you may turn out to be a raving lunatic."

"This is totally possible."

"In spite of that, I want to ask you something."

"Ask away." I opened my eyes and looked up at him curiously.

"Would you be interested in getting coffee or something sometime? Just the two of us?"

I grinned. "Sure."

He grinned back at me. "So only having met me a few hours ago doesn't weird you out?"

I shrugged. "No, plus how do you know I'm not some crazy stalker who knew from the very beginning it was you but I'm really just an incredible actress and am hiding my insanity?"

"Ooo…good point. I think I'd like to take my chances, though."

I laughed. "Then chance away."

Tali: So, this is something new and I hope y'all like it. It's been playing in my head pretty much since I started writing fanfiction. I'm not dissing anyone who reads tabloids, so don't get your panties in a bunch. I read Us Weekly and Entertainment Weekly … weekly. I've got a couple more chapters written up and have an end in sight that I'm hoping to write today or tomorrow. Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2: Getting to Know You

Tali: wow…so apparently everyone likes this a LOT. I hope I keep it going in a good way. I don't have plans to make it long and I broke my own rules by starting to post this bad boy before it was finished. So…hopefully I can finish before I catch up to myself. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm loving that y'all are loving this!

***

I woke up slowly the next morning, not wanting to leave my wonderful dream. It wasn't typical of me to have such vivid dreams or dream about Edward Cullen, but I wasn't going to complain. Dreaming about having a gorgeous man in my bed was not a bad thing.

I rolled out of bed in the early morning darkness and shuffled into the bathroom to shower for work. I hated having wet hair on snowy days but I couldn't really help it. I hadn't showered last night before bed. It just meant I'd have to break out the seldom used hair dryer.

I wrapped up in towels and padded back to my room, my dirty clothes wadded up under one arm. I flipped on the light and screamed. There was a man in my bed.

He sat up, looking around wildly, throwing himself out of the bed.

"What? What's wrong?" his voice was slurred with sleep though I could hear a British accent.

"Bella?" I was shoved into the room by Rose running into me from behind. "What happened?"

I turned and yelped. She was wearing just a t-shirt, her long hair loose around her shoulders and her make-up smudged on her face some. I stared at her then jumped again when a naked guy came up behind her. I stared up at him and suddenly it all came back.

"Oh my God," I turned and stared at Edward. "That wasn't a dream?!"

Everyone visibly relaxed. Rose grinned and turned, pushing against Emmett's bare chest as she left the room. Emmett still looked confused but he was grinning anyway. He waved slightly as he disappeared from view.

"So this is all because you thought last night was a dream?" Edward looked thoroughly confused as he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to wake up. I stared at him, still a little bit in shock.

He was wearing a pair of Batman boxers with the blue t-shirt he'd had on the night before. I had to admit, this was probably the sexiest thing I'd ever seen. He had the most gorgeous bed-head and I was discovering that he probably just didn't do anything with his hair to get it to look that way.

I tightened my towel under my armpits, suddenly hideously aware of the fact that I was naked. I felt a red flush creeping up my chest and neck and cursed my fair complexion, and not for the first time.

Edward grinned at me as he realized the situation. "You're naked aren't you?"

"No, I shower in my swimsuit," I retorted.

His grin widened. "Well, go ahead and change. I've seen it all before."

"You haven't seen my bits before," I countered.

"I wouldn't mind seeing them."

I sighed. "I'm not up to the witty banter at 6 in the morning. Would you please step out so I can get dressed?"

"Sure." He grinned as he walked past me. I pushed the door shut behind him and groaned softly. What a way to start your day.

I dressed quickly, pulling on my black pants and a snuggly white sweater with my comfortable shoes. Today was administrative stuff, much to my annoyance. I hated Fridays. I not only had to get down on my hands and knees for the puppet shows, but I had to do it in my good clothes. And of course, the meetings were early in the day so I had to be there at 7 am. Today, a day when it was snowy and I had Edward fucking Cullen in my bed, I'd much prefer to stay home. I paused as I was plugging my hair dryer in. Maybe I could call in sick.

"Bella?"

I jumped and screamed a little, turning to see Edward behind me in the doorway. He grinned.

"Jumpy little thing aren't you?"

I frowned at him. Definitely going in. "I was thinking about something and you startled me."

He grinned. "Do you mind if I crawl back into bed? I don't have to be at the location until noon and I'd like to get back to sleep if I could."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Bitch."

His grin widened. "You are definitely not a morning person are you?"

"Oh just shut up and get back in bed."

He laughed and crawled into the bed, lying on his side as he watched me dry my hair and do my make-up. I shot him a look. "Stalker."

He chuckled. "You invited me in, how am I a stalker?"

"You're watching me. That's kind of creepy."

"You think I'm creepy?" he looked surprised.

I sighed and unplugged my hair dryer. "No."

"So you're just grumpy."

I glared at him. "You're right; I'm not a morning person. There is nothing I'd rather do right now than crawl back into bed and snuggle up and go back to sleep. Instead, I have to go to work and put on a fucking puppet show."

"I thought you liked your job."

"I do, just not when I have to drive in the ice and snow. Plus, the likelihood of the schools being open today is pretty slim and that means my shows are probably cancelled but I still have to be there and prepared in case someone shows up."

"Do you want me to come and watch your show?"

I stared at him with surprise. "Seriously?"

He shrugged. "I'll bring some people from the set."

I laughed. "What's this movie about? Zombies or something."

He grinned. "Yeah. We'll even come in make-up if you want."

I could just see the looks on everyone's faces when the library was beset upon by a horde of zombies there for a children's puppet show. It definitely had appeal, but if there were kids, they'd likely be scared. "No thanks, I think I can manage. I'll read a book or something."

He grinned. "Well, if you change your mind, just give me a call."

"I don't have your number," I reminded him. "You told me you keep your phone in Emmett's pants."

"I do. He's not wearing any pants right now, so I could probably get to them if I needed to."

I made a face and put my stuff away. I grabbed my purse and started for the door. "Good night, Edward. It was very nice to meet you and scream at you this morning."

"Yes, last night was definitely a pleasure."

Something in his tone stopped me. I turned and frowned. "What does that mean?"

His face flushed slightly. "Nothing other than I enjoyed your company last night."

I narrowed my eyes. "You mean something else."

"Aren't you going to be late?"

I checked my watch and huffed, stalking out the door. "This isn't over, Cullen," I called over my shoulder.

I was pulling on my coat when my phone range. I dug it out of my purse and felt a little bubble of hope in my chest when I saw my boss's name.

"Hello?"

"Bella, we're closed today. Don't come in."

I grinned. "You caught me on my way out the door. Thanks."

Chris laughed. "You're welcome; though I'm sorry I didn't get you sooner. I wasn't sure what time you'd be up."

"Chris, I will be happy to take a call telling me I don't have to come in at any time of the day or night."

"You don't like working here?" he teased.

"Oh, I do, but at times I like not having to work. Especially times like today."

"Well, keep warm, kiddo. We'll see you Monday."

"Thanks. Bye Chris."

I flipped my phone closed and grinned. Whatever Edward hadn't wanted to tell me, I was going to get it out of him now.

I headed back to the bathroom to wash the make-up off my face. I pulled my hair back into a messy knob and then made my way back into my room. Edward was snuggled down in the bed, hugging my pillow to his chest. I raised my eyebrows at that as I pulled some pajamas out of my dresser. I made sure to grab the cute ones with Wonder Woman on them as I headed back to the bathroom.

"Bella?"

I turned and grinned. "The library is closed today. You're totally gonna spill."

"Not if I'm asleep."

"I'll wake you up."

"I'm a sound sleeper."

I grinned and headed back to the bathroom.

"What the hell is going on?"

I jumped as Rose appeared in the dark hallway.

"The library's closed, so I'm putting my pjs back on and getting back in bed."

Her face split into a huge grin. "I got a call that the school is closed today so I'm staying in bed with Emmett all day."

I made a face at her and disappeared into the bathroom. Rose wasn't one to jump into bed with a guy she barely knew, so I could tell there was some special connection with Emmett for her to be this gaga. I was happy for her, I really was. I was also insanely jealous. Curse my stupid rules about not sleeping with a guy until I'd known him at least a month. I studied my face in the mirror, wondering if it'd be ok to break the rules for Edward.

I changed quickly and headed back to my room. Edward was laying with his back to me, pointedly pretending to be asleep. I grinned and bounced onto the bed.

"Edward," I sang "I know you're not sleeping."

"Yes, I am, actually."

"You talk in your sleep?"

"Yes. I'm very coherent in my sleep it turns out."

"Bullshit. Roll over and talk to me."

He sighed and shifted in the bed, looking up at me. I grinned down at him. "Spill. What were you talking about earlier?"

"I really enjoyed having dinner and conversing with you last night."

"You are not as good an actor as you think you are."

"Shut up, my mum says I am."

I laughed and snuggled down in the blankets, looking at him expectantly.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "I'm not discussing it. I barely know you."

"So it's dirty."

"A little."

"Now you have to tell me."

"No." He looked like a petulant child.

I rolled my eyes. "Anything I can do to convince you?"

He quirked an eyebrow at me and I made a face. "Anything else?"

He laughed. "No."

I sighed and then, cautiously, snuggled up to him. He stiffened slightly at first, then wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him. I breathed in his scent and sighed again.

"You smell good."

"I haven't showered. I probably reek."

"No, you smell nice."

"Maybe you _are_ crazy."

"Maybe so. Tell me about yourself."

He laughed. "You can get on any number of websites and get my whole life story, Bella. Why bother to ask me for it?"

"Well, one, I'm too lazy to get out of bed where I'm pretty damn cozy and two, I'm sure a lot of stuff is left out or not true. I want the straight shit from you."

He chuckled and rubbed my arm thoughtfully. "I have an older brother named Roger who's in banking, my father's a literature teacher and my mother is a music teacher. I learned to read and play the piano early on and never really quit."

"Bo-ring," I sang. "Tell me something interesting."

He grinned. "Like what?"

"What got you into acting?"

"That's interesting?"

I shrugged. "Brain still hasn't totally clicked on yet."

He grinned. "My mother got me into it. She saw what a ham I was as a child and decided to push me towards acting. I started doing local commercials at 8, then some modeling, then I got a role in a movie and it was all downhill from there."

I grinned. "Downhill?"

"You think getting screamed at and stalked is an improvement from glorious anonymity?"

"I suppose not." I studied him for a moment. "Who was your first love?"

He sighed. "Katherine Hepburn. I adored her as a child."

I laughed. "Seriously?"

"Yes. I was devastated when I realized she was old."

I giggled and rolled so my back was to his chest. "I guess I can't judge. I was in love with Cary Grant and Gene Kelly."

"Great guys."

"Dead."

He laughed and nodded. "Details."

"I'm not really into necrophilia, actually, so a pretty major one."

He laughed and we were quiet for a while.

"First real love?" I asked softly.

"Regina Smythe. She was a year older and completely gorgeous. She wouldn't give me the time of day."

I chuckled. "I bet she would now."

"Probably. Think I should give her a call?"

I grinned. "Maybe. If you do, you have to leave."

"Then I won't. I'm fairly content here."

I grinned stupidly.

"Can we sleep now or do you have more questions?"

"Of course I have more questions, but I'm up for sleep."

"Good." He reached down and pulled the blankets up, pulling them up over us. "I like your pajamas."

"I like your boxers."

He chuckled softly. "Thanks." He pulled me closer to his chest and we slowly drifted off to sleep.

***

"Bella?"

I frowned and rolled over. "Yes?"

Edward was sitting on the edge of the bed. "I've got to go. Work."

I nodded. "Ok."

"I've got to work really late tonight, but can I see you tomorrow? Maybe dinner and a movie?"

I grinned. "I'd like that."

He sat there for a long moment, then suddenly leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the forehead. He grinned at the surprised look on my face. "I'll kiss your lips later, but I want you to be fully awake to enjoy it."

I laughed and pushed on his leg. "You should get going. Drive safe."

He nodded and stood up. He had the books from the night before in a canvas tote I recognized from my closet. "I stole your phone and got your number, so I'll call you later, yeah?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"See you."

I grinned after his back, feeling completely ridiculous. I heard low voices in the other room then the front door opened and closed. A minute later, Rose came into my room and crawled into bed with me.

"Oh my God," she squealed. "Did that just happen?"

I grinned. "I think so."

She sighed and pressed her face into the pillow, squealing again. "I'm going to explode from excitement if it's all real."

I laughed. "Don't explode, that'll be really hard to clean up. Plus, Emmett will be bummed and I'm not sure he knows how to do that."

She grinned at me and sighed softly, flopping onto her side. "So you and Edward Cullen, huh?"

I grinned back at her. "Apparently."

"Did you sleep with him?"

"Sleep, yes. Sex, no."

"Why not?" she exclaimed. "I totally would have jumped him."

I laughed. "You were too busy jumping Emmett."

She grinned. "Yeah I was." She looked dreamy. "I really like him."

"Do you know him?" I asked gently. "Be careful Rose."

She sighed. "I know. I'll be careful. I'm going to get to know him, I swear."

I nodded and reached forward, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear affectionately. "When are you seeing him again?"

"Tonight. He's coming over for dinner."

"How convenient," I snickered. "Edward has to work tonight so he wants to take me out tomorrow."

She grinned. "Out out?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea."

"You know what we have to do, right?"

I groaned. "Alice."

She nodded. "She'll kill us if we don't inform her."

I grunted. "You think she'll be more upset that he's interested in me or that I didn't sleep with him when given an opportunity?"

"It's a toss-up."

I laughed and crawled out of bed and grabbed my phone. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Ready."

I punched in Alice's number and she picked up on the second ring.

"Hey Vixen, what's up?"

I grinned. "Sit down."

"Why? Oh my God are you pregnant?"

"Alice, you have to have sex to get pregnant."

"Fine. I'm sitting."

"Rose and I met a couple of guys last night and one of them was Edward Cullen."

There was a long silence, then Alice burst out laughing. "Ok, for real. What?"

"For real. Edward Cullen is in town doing a movie and we ran into him and his manager at the grocery store and ended up having dinner with them. And they stayed over last night."

I held the phone away from my ear as Alice started screaming. I could hear Jasper in the background, panicked. His voice finally came on the phone.

"Bella? What the fuck?"

I was laughing. "We met Edward Cullen last night."

"Get out, seriously?"

I grinned. "Seriously. They just left a little while ago."

"Hold on. Alice! What the hell are you doing?"

I could hear muffled conversation. Apparently Alice was packing to head here immediately. Jasper spent a few minutes arguing with her before sighing.

"Apparently we're on our way. We'll be there tonight."

I laughed. "We'll be ready."

"Bella, if you are lying to me I will kill you," Alice was shouting from the background.

"I'm not lying, though I can't promise Edward will be interested in being attacked by a pregnant pixie."

"I'm gonna get you for that," she shouted after Jasper passed on my retort.

He sighed again. "You women are going to be the death of me."

"Sorry. See you soon, Jazz."

"Yeah yeah."

He disconnected and I grinned at Rose. "They're coming tonight."

"You have to give up your bed," she said immediately.

I groaned. "Why me?"

"Because Alice will want to sleep in the bed Edward Cullen slept in."

"Bitch."

She shrugged. "Plus, I plan on keeping Emmett here overnight as much as possible."

"Slag."

She laughed. "Jealous."

"A little."

I sat up and looked around. "Well, if they're staying here, I've got to clean up. You get the living room and kitchen since no one's going to see your room but Emmett."

She grinned. "On it, boss."

***

"We're here, where's Edward?"

"Hello to you too, Alice," I said with amusement as she and Jasper came banging into the house, bringing cold air and snow flurries with them.

Alice waved her hand dismissively. "I've seen you in person before. I'm currently much more interested in him."

I gave her a hug anyway. "How was the drive?"

"Fuck the drive, where's Edward?"

"It was easy, thanks," Jasper grunted under the weight of their luggage.

I grinned and took a suitcase from him, leading the way to my room. "Y'all are in here and I'm on the couch. Edward is working tonight."

"What?" Alice looked so disappointed. "I thought for sure he'd be here."

"You didn't exactly ask now did you?"

She scowled and settled on the couch, her arms crossed over her chest. If it weren't for the large belly, I'd swear she was a grumpy child. "And Rose and the other guy?"

"Rose went to get something for dinner. We stocked up on simple things yesterday, not dinner party items."

"We don't need a dinner party, feed us what you've got," protested Jasper, settling on the couch next to Alice.

I laughed. "Frozen pizza and canned soup? No, we'll feed you better than that. Can't have you reporting me to my mom."

He laughed and even Alice seemed to relax some. "So this other guy? Who was he? Anyone famous?"

"No, not really. He's Edward's manager, Emmett something." I frowned, realizing I hadn't actually gotten Emmett's last name. "He's the most jovial person I think I've ever met."

"Wow, jovial, look at me, I'm a librarian."

I gave Jasper the finger. "Anyway, I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted that Emmett is coming for dinner tonight so you'll get to meet him then."

"Oh, come on Bella, you know you miss me."

"Yeah, like a hole in the head," I retorted.

Jasper grinned. "Seeing as how you have seven that you use on a regular basis, I think that's a good analogy."

"Bite me."

"Wow…really? Going with that one?"

I laughed. "I'm tired, its been a little bit stressful today."

"Stressful in a good way?" asked Alice curiously

I shrugged noncommittally. "Not necessarily good or bad. Cleaning up the house for you two, fielding a few calls from Edward, finishing up a script for work. Just lots going on today."

"Oh my god he has your phone number? Will you give him mine? Did you have sex with him? What was it like? What's his thing like?"

I gave Alice an annoyed look. "Seriously? In front of your husband?"

"I'm used to it," Jasper yawned. He leaned forward and picked up the remote. "We have an understanding. She can screw Edward Cullen and I can screw Jessica Stanley."

"She's a bitch, according to Edward," I laughed.

"Well, that doesn't really matter during sex does it? I'll be ok, I can just put some duct tape over her mouth or get some ear plugs."

I grimaced. "You two are terrible."

"Well?" demanded Alice.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, he has my number. No, I won't give him yours, he doesn't need it and you can't have his because you'll harass him. Yes, you will." She scowled at me. "No, I didn't have sex with him and I didn't see his penis. You're about to have a baby, it's about damn time you started using grown up words."

"Penis is just…weird." She made a face. "I prefer thing."

"Whatever." I sat back and watched the game Jasper had settled on. "He was wearing Batman boxers, though. That was pretty sexy."

"Oh my god, so much so. Did you change the sheets?"

I rolled my eyes. "Against my better judgment, no. You can sleep in the same sheets as Edward Cullen."

She clapped her hands excitedly. Jasper rolled his eyes.

"So we get to meet him tomorrow?"

I nodded. "He's picking me up for dinner and a movie around 7. You are to be on your best behavior, Alice." I looked at her sternly.

"She can't hear you right now, her brain is taken over with Cullenitis. It's a pretty awful disease really." Jasper looked at his wife affectionately. "It inhibits much information not relating to Edward Cullen getting into her brain. Sometimes, I think she forgets to breathe even."

I snorted when Alice sighed, seemingly on cue. She frowned, looking between the two of us. "What?"

"Nothing dear," Jasper patted her hand condescendingly. "Nothing at all."

I hid a smile as Alice looked confused and then rolled her eyes. She pushed herself up and waddled down the hall to the bathroom.

***

"You look ridiculous," I giggled as Edward walked in the door the next day. He was wearing a brown wig that looked awful and a baseball cap pulled down low. He was in his typical uniform of jeans and a t-shirt with his favorite leather jacket over that.

He grinned and pulled me close to him for a quick kiss. "I do it all for you, darlin'."

I grimaced. "That was awful. Not even close to a Texas twang."

"I'm trying." He reached for my jacket. "Are you ready?"

"I am, but we have to do something first."

He raised his eyebrows. "What?"

I sighed. "You have to meet Alice."

"I do?"

I nodded. "She made a special trip from Dallas to meet you and you do not fuck with a woman who is seven months pregnant and just drove six hours."

"She's pregnant? Pregnant women scare me."

"As they should. She's vicious even when she's not pregnant. I really pity Jasper."

He grinned and followed me into the living room. Alice jumped up excitedly and practically threw herself at Edward as soon as he stepped into the room.

"Oh my God I'm such a fan," she gushed, looking up at him with what bordered on adoration.

Jasper rolled his eyes and reached for her, pulling her back slightly. "Sorry, she's hormonal."

"I would do anything for you," Alice went on, ignoring Jasper. "Or to you."

Edward laughed nervously, clearly embarrassed.

"And on that note, we're leaving." I grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door.

"But he just got here," pouted Alice.

I shot her a look over my shoulder and she stuck her tongue out at me. "Well at least you do all the things to him that I can't!"

"God…sorry about that," I muttered as we carefully picked our way over the ice to the car.

Edward laughed and shook his head. "I've definitely had worse. One woman started to take her clothes off in line at a signing because of an idiotic joke I made."

I laughed. "See, you could have probably had your pick of any woman in that line for your sexy fun times instead of having to resort to Jessica."

"You're never going to let that go are you?"

"Probably not." I grinned at him as I drove to the theater.

We pulled up to the theater and climbed out, shivering as we made our way to the ticket booth. Edward pulled me against his chest as we stood in line behind another couple. There wasn't much showing here, just _Love is Eternal_ and _Blood Drips Down the Walls_. We'd both seen _Blood_ so we were stuck with _Love_.

Edward rested his chin against the top of my head. "So what do you want for dinner tonight?" he asked calmly.

"Probably Chinese," I responded, hooking my hands on his arms and snuggling back into his chest. He was incredibly warm and I loved that.

"At your place or mine or out?"

I laughed softly. "I think yours. Alice and Jasper are here all weekend and she'll jump you if you show up again. Plus going out to a restaurant could be detrimental to your health. The movie was announced in the paper this morning."

He chuckled softly. "I think I can take her."

I grinned. "You better not. Jasper would kick your ass if you hurt her."

"Yeah yeah."

We stepped forward and got our tickets, paying cash. Edward had told me about the time he made the mistake of paying with a credit card and the girl in the booth had started screaming with excitement. We quickly made our way into the theater and took our seats towards the top. Edward lifted the arm rest and pulled me against his side.

"So you think you'll be interested in staying the night?" he asked casually.

I was quiet, thinking. "I might."

He nodded and kissed my temple. "I'd love it if you'd stay."

"I'm not having sex with you after only knowing you for 48 hours."

"I'm alright with that."

I grinned. "So my bed hog tendencies don't bother you?" I teased.

"Not at all. It was kind of nice to wake up with you wrapped around me. Well, before the screaming started. That wasn't very nice."

I blushed and he laughed. "I warned you about that."

"You did and I'll admit I didn't totally believe it would happen."

I grinned. "So I did wake you up in the night. You didn't say."

He flushed slightly. "I didn't say because it's slightly embarrassing."

I turned in the seat, throwing my legs across his lap. "Spill it Cullen, or I'll announce who you are to a shit-ton of teenage girls."

He gave me a dirty look then started to lightly rub my legs absentmindedly. "I woke up in the middle of the night as you were…moving. Against me."

"Oh God."

He nodded. "What's worse is I'd moved in the night and was pulling you against me. We were essentially having sex in our sleep with our clothes on."

I stared at him in horror. "Are you shitting me? I had sex with Edward Cullen in my sleep? What a totally gyp."

He laughed and squeezed my knee. "I told you, we were both asleep and fully clothed. No actual sex happened, just dry humping."

"Did one of us get off at least?" I asked.

Edward looked at the screen, red creeping up from the open neck of his shirt.

"You did," I gasped. "You totally got off on it!"

"I thought it was a dream at first," he protested lamely. "By the time I figured out what was going on, the rockets were launching."

I pressed my face against his arm to muffle my laughter as the lights went down and the movie started. He pushed my legs off his lap and turned me around so my back was against his side. We watched quietly, making little comments to each other during particularly absurd scenes. At one point, the lead actor pulled his shirt off and a guy sitting off to our left started giggling like a little girl. I craned my neck and grinned at Edward when I saw he was a plump 20-something guy sitting with a pretty girl about his age who looked amused. Edward grinned and leaned over.

"Maybe he's just being ironic," he murmured, his breath tickling my ear.

I nodded. "Let's hope. I think that's his wife next to him."

He grinned and pulled me closer as we kept watching. The movie was pretty inane, nothing terribly original or exciting and, mercifully, it was over quickly. We waited until the theater emptied before making our way out. Edward pulled his cap low over his eyes and looked down at the floor as we walked. I chuckled and linked my arm in his.

"Were you mobbed today?"

He nodded. "Yeah, the damn newspaper printed where we were filming today."

"I saw. Is there going to be a to-do about it?"

"Oh yes. The director's pissed. There's talk of pulling out."

"Oh." I felt a little flutter of sadness in my chest. "How serious do you think it is?"

"Not at all. It's Tony Carlson. He's all talk and no action after he's settled on something. He'll threaten to blow up the moon if he thinks it'll get him what he wants."

I laughed and unlocked the car. Edward climbed in and pulled off the wig and cap, tossing them in the back seat. "Damn thing makes my head itch."

I grinned and reached over, scratching his scalp lightly for a few seconds before turning my attention to the drive. "So your place, right? Are we going to order in or stop somewhere?"

"We can stop."

I nodded and pulled out carefully. There weren't a lot of places open because of the weather but my favorite Chinese take-out was, Mr. Chang's. I pulled in and we climbed out, walking carefully up to the doors. Edward held it for me as I headed in, slipping on a patch of black ice.

"Careful," he laughed, catching my elbow.

I grinned and stepped inside, relieved to be in the heat. It smelled amazing, too. I loved Chang's. Edward came in behind me and looked around curiously. It was dimly lit and there were red pleather booths lining the walls. There were a few tables scattered around and a large buffet down the middle of the restaurant. I walked straight to the counter and smiled at Angela, who was behind the counter.

"Hey Angela, how are you?"

"Bella," she grinned. "Long time no see. You haven't been going somewhere else have you?"

I laughed. "God no, I've been a little short on cash is all. Plus work's been insane and I was home for the holidays."

"How's your family?"

"Loud and annoying. Yours?"

"Same. Dad would love to see you."

I chuckled. "I'd love to see him too, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. Can I get my usual plus some extra to go?"

"Sure," she grinned, looking past me at Edward curiously. "New boyfriend?"

"New male friend," I grinned.

She raised her eyebrows. I rolled my eyes. "We're flirting with the line, happy?"

She winked at me. "I'll throw in something special, get the love going."

"No oysters," I warned her.

She laughed and punched up our order. I dug into my purse for some cash and handed it over.

"I was going to pay," Edward said, suddenly at my elbow. I jumped and looked up at him. Angela was peering at him intently. He didn't seem to notice as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, counting out bills and passing them over.

She took then, dazed and I suddenly wrapped my arms around his waist and grinned. "I know, right? He looks just like Edward Cullen. Its wild, isn't it?"

She looked at me startled. "He's not?"

Edward laughed. "Oh man, you would not believe how many times I get asked that." He was doing his American accent now. I hoped she wouldn't notice that moments ago he'd been British. "Bella keeps telling me I should go into the impersonation business but I don't know."

Angela studied him for a second and then shook her head. "No, I don't think you'd pass. Edward Cullen is much better looking, to be honest. No offense."

He shrugged. "None taken."

"So what's the difference that you see?" I asked curiously.

Angela leaned forward and studied him for a minute. "Well, for one, the eyes. He doesn't have Edward's eyes. I'd know Edward Cullen anywhere by his eyes."

"Well, then I guess I'm sunk," Edward looked genuinely disappointed.

I grinned and looked at Angela. "Oh well. I guess he'll just have to keep doing what he's doing then."

She nodded. "Yeah, don't quit your day job." She winked and headed into the kitchen to check on our order.

Edward laughed and pulled me over to a bench where people waiting for tables and take-out sat. He pulled me next to him and kissed my temple. "So what exactly are we getting?"

"Lo mien, egg rolls, broccoli beef, garlic chicken, all my favorites."

"You get all that on a regular basis?" he looked surprised.

I flushed. "I like variety. Plus, I can eat on the leftovers for days."

He grinned and nodded. "Thinking ahead, I like it."

My phone deedled at me and I dug it out of my pocket, leaning into Edward to get it. His grin widened. I elbowed him as I pulled my phone out and opened it.

"Hello?"

"Are you coming home tonight?"

"I'm good Alice, thanks for asking."

"Well?"

I sighed. "No. We're going to Edward's to have dinner and I'm staying over so that you and Jasper can have my bed."

"Why?"

"Because you came in unexpectedly and I'm not keen on sleeping on the couch. Plus, you'd want to sleep in the same bed he did, right?"

She sighed. "If I behave can I meet him again?"

I grinned. "Yes."

"Brunch tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Out or in?"

"I'm thinking in."

"Ok. I'll start planning. Bella, take notes on tonight. I want to know ALL about it."

I grimaced. "Alice, I'm not having sex with him tonight."

"Why not?" she demanded. "How many opportunities are you going to get?"

I laughed. "I don't care, I'm not going to be one of those girls."

"God, you and your morals are totally killing my buzz."

"Sorry."

"Does he have any food allergies I should know about?"

"You mean you don't know every little detail about his life?"

"Shut up and ask."

I grinned and looked up at Edward. "We're having brunch with everyone tomorrow. Any food allergies we should know about?"

"None."

"You're good to go, Alice," I grinned.

She seriously clapped her hands. "Perfect. Be here at 11, ok?"

"Roger."

"Bella."

"Alice."

"Be careful. We don't want another Mike, ok?"

I flushed slightly. "Ok."

"Love you girl."

"Love you too."

I flipped my phone closed and leaned into Edward again, slipping it into my pocket.

"Everything alright?" he asked curiously.

I nodded, my mood definitely tainted by the mention of Mike.

He studied me for a moment. "You're lying."

I shot him a look. "We're not to a stage in our relationship where I'm ready to discuss this."

His eyebrows shot up. "Whoa, defensive."

"Sorry." I stood up and started pacing in the small area, ready for my food to be there. "Bad memories."

"Memories you don't want to discuss." I nodded. "Understood."

Angela reappeared then with two bags of food. Edward stepped forward and grinned at her as I pushed my way out to the car.

Edward followed behind me closely, climbing into the passenger side as I started the engine.

"Seriously, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I muttered. Shit, why was I _still_ letting that douche get to me?

"Bella?"

I sighed and hit the steering wheel with the heel of my hand. "Alice said something that just irked me."

"So ignore it."

"It's not that simple."

"Why not?"

"Because she told me to be careful, reminding me that I've been like this with a guy before."

"I'm lost, Bella."

"I never fall for guys like I'm falling for you, Edward."

"You're falling for me?"

I sighed. "Not really the point here."

"I think it's a pretty important point."

I shot him a look and pulled into his parking lot. There was only two apartment complexes in town and this was the nicer one. He pointed to his spot and I parked and climbed out, pausing when I realized I had no idea where his apartment was. He handed me a bag of food wordlessly and we headed inside. He punched in a code, then held the door for me. I waited inside, shivering slightly as the cold air came in with me. Edward led the way upstairs to the third floor and to the end of the hall. He handed me the second bag and pulled out his keys.

He let me in and immediately went to the alarm that was beeping to disarm it while I set the bags of food on the counter and looked around. It was a loft apartment with a huge kitchen taking up easily a third of it. It had beautiful granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. There was a large living room with black leather furniture set up around state of the art electronics equipment. There were windows on two sides , the blinds pulled for privacy. There were two doors in a small alcove and I wandered over curiously. One opened into a bedroom taken up almost exclusively with a California king and a couple of small night stands and the other opened on a huge bathroom with a giant walk in closet in it. There was a giant whirlpool tub in one corner with a huge corner shower opposite it.

"So do you approve?"

I jumped and turned to see Edward standing in the bathroom door, an amused look on his face. I blushed and nodded. "It's nice. I remember when they built these apartments. I wanted to come check them out but I was busy the day they had an open house."

He chuckled and nodded towards the kitchen. "Let's eat before it gets cold."

I nodded and followed him out to the kitchen. He pulled out plates and we settled on tall chairs at the island and started dishing everything up. I smiled at him as he picked up the chopsticks.

"You can use those?"

He laughed. "Yeah. You can't?"

I shook my head. "I'm terrible. I've tried to learn and I'm a hopeless case."

"It's easy if you've got a good teacher." He stood up and rummaged through a drawer, returning a moment later and picking up the chopsticks he'd been using. I watched with fascination as he rubberbanded the ends together and slid a piece of folded paper up between them. "Now try."

I held them clumsily and attempted to pick up a piece of chicken. Edward watched me and snickered when I flipped the piece onto the counter. I shot him a look and he grinned.

"Let me show you."

He moved around behind me and put his hand on mine, moving my fingers with his. His breath was hot on my neck and I slid away from him a little. He looked at me with surprise.

I flushed. "You're making it incredibly difficult to not sleep with you."

He grinned. "I am?"

"You smell good and you're touching me and you're very, very close."

He laughed softly and stepped away. "Sorry."

"No you're not," I grinned, picking up my fork and digging in.

He grinned back. "You're right. I'm not."

After dinner, we loaded the dishwasher and put the leftovers away before Edward led the way into the living room. He pointed to the couch and I took a seat while he loaded a DVD in the player.

"So are you ready to talk about earlier?" he asked casually as he settled beside me on the couch.

I sighed. "Alice just reminded me of the last time I got so close so fast to someone."

"I take it that things didn't work out."

I laughed dryly. "No, they did not."

He looked at me expectantly and I sighed again. "I fell for a guy I met in a club when we were in college. We slept together that night, we went out a few times and really hit it off, and I found out he was getting married a couple of weeks later."

"Ouch. How'd you find out?"

"I went to the wedding. The bride was my cousin."

He stared at me. "Shit."

I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder. "Needless to say, she and I haven't spoken since. I had no idea he was her Mike and she doesn't believe me."

"Well, I'm not getting married anytime soon to anyone."

I grinned. "Thanks for the honesty."

"I'm not seeing anyone regularly, only a few girls that Emmett sets me up with for premiers when I refuse to go with Jessica."

I laughed and snuggled close to him. "So why are you here with me? Boredom?"

"Fascination."

"How so?"

"You're different from all the others. You're refreshing. Most girls I date are all over me in the limo before I even know their names."

I smiled. "Sexy fun times in a limo. I've always been intrigued by the prospect."

He laughed. "I'm definitely willing to give it a shot with you sometime."

I blushed like crazy and turned my attention to the movie.

When it was over, I was exhausted and stood up, stretching. "I'm kind of ready for bed," I announced.

Edward nodded and jumped up quickly. "Shall we share again?"

I grinned. "Damn straight."

He chuckled and led the way into the bathroom to the giant closet. He opened a dresser and pulled out a pair of Mario Brothers boxers and a white t-shirt and handed them to me. "It's the smallest I've got," he said apologetically.

"I'll be fine," I grinned, internally freaking out about wearing Edward Cullen's underwear and t-shirt to sleep in.

He nodded and disappeared, giving me privacy to change. I changed quickly then studied the bath products he used for future reference. I found an unopened toothbrush in a drawer and used it to brush my teeth, setting the red plastic brush in the holder next to his blue one. I grinned, liking the look of the two together. I exited the bathroom, my clothes balled up in my arms, and pulled the door shut behind me. Edward was sitting up in the bed reading, just like last night. I dropped my clothes on a chair by the door and crawled into the bed on the other side of him. He grinned at me.

"Mind if I read?"

I snorted. "No. I didn't last night, why would I tonight?"

He shrugged. "You never know. Women can be moody."

I laughed and looked around the room with interest. There was very little to personalize it, just a couple of photographs on the nightstand and a small dresser pressed up against the wall the room shared with the bathroom.

"Ok, don't laugh, but I'm totally about to have a fangirl moment."

Edward looked over at me, his eyebrows raised. "I make absolutely no such promise."

I grinned and closed my eyes so I would have to see him laughing at me. I pounded my fists and kicked my heels a little before relaxing.

"Out of your system?"

"Not totally, but I can't really let go with you sitting there being all creepy and watching me."

"You're in my bed," he protested with a laugh. "I'm allowed to watch you."

I pinched him lightly and snuggled down in the covers. "G'night, Edward Cullen."

He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "G'night, Bella Swan."

"Edward."

"Bella."

"If I start dry humping you in the night, wake me up so I can enjoy it."

"Yes ma'am."

I fell asleep a lot quicker that night, waking up when Edward flipped off the light and scooted down in the bed, pulling me close to him. The loft was nice, but it wasn't terribly well insulated and outside of the bed, it was pretty cold. I rolled over in my half sleep and wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him closer to me.

"Are you asleep?"

"Mm."

He chuckled softly and kissed me lightly. "Night."

"Mm."

***

I woke up the next morning when my phone started to ring. I extracted myself from Edward's arms sleepily and stumbled across the room to my pants, retrieving my phone.

"Lo?" I slurred.

"Bella, turn on the TV."

"What?"

"Turn on the TV."

"Who is this?" I frowned.

"It's Rose. Turn on the TV."

I groaned and stumbled into the living room, grabbing the remote and somehow managing to turn the giant TV on. "What channel?"

"Any of the local ones."

I flipped until I found the local affiliate and then dropped the remote. It broke into a few pieces on the concrete floor as I slowly sat on the couch.

"Oh my God," I whispered.

The scene was the outside of Edward's apartment building. There were hundreds of people outside apparently, all the local news teams were represented and it looked like a couple of the entertainment shows, too.

"The elusive Edward Cullen was seen entering this apartment building last night with a young woman we have recently found out is named Isabella Swan, an employee of the local library. Our sources reveal that they picked up dinner last night at local eatery Mr. Chang's and have not emerged from the apartment since returning here around 8 pm."

Suddenly, a picture of me from one of my puppet shows flashed across the screen. I grimaced, since I was wearing dirty overalls, my hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, and my t-shirt was a little too small. Of course there was a picture of me on one of my worst days, a set building day.

"The two must be serious for her to stay the night, as Edward has never before allowed a woman to stay the entire night in his room. In the past, he's definitely been a love them and leave them kind of guy."

"Turn it off."

I looked up, startled, and saw Edward standing, staring at the TV. His face was dark with fury.

"I can't," I whispered. "I broke the remote."

He reached over and yanked the power cord out of the wall, effectively turning it off.

"How did they know we were here?" he demanded.

I shook my head. "I have no idea. Rose and Alice wouldn't tell anyone, plus they didn't know for sure where we were. Only you and me and Emmett."

He looked furious. "You know what this means, don't you? I have to move. Again."

"I didn't say anything," I protested. "I swear, Edward, I didn't tell anyone. You've been with me ever since you picked me up yesterday. You would have heard me calling someone in the bathroom last night."

"What about before I picked you up?"

"Why would I want to tell people?" I demanded. "What do I get out of this? I would lose my privacy, too!"

"There are magazines that will pay a shit load for pictures or a story about me."

"And you think I'd be someone who'd do that?"

"I don't know you do I?" he shouted at me.

"I don't know you either," I shouted back. "How do I know it wasn't you in some attempt at publicity?"

He stared at me. "You think I need to go looking for publicity? I step out the fucking door and I get publicity."

"Maybe because you tip people off to where you are."

He dropped onto the armchair and held his head in his hands, silent for a long moment. "You swear you didn't tell anyone?"

"I swear, Edward. No one knew from me."

He nodded and looked up. He looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept in days.

"I'm sorry. Most girls would have."

"I'm not most girls. You keep pointing that out."

He nodded and stared at the floor for a while. "We'll have to get you out the back way," he said finally. "That or you can wait here for a couple of hours after I go."

"Why can't we just leave together?" I asked, puzzled.

"It's more fodder, not that they need it."

I rubbed my face tiredly. "So what do we do?"

***

Everyone was crowded around the TV when Edward and I walked in the back door to the house. There were photographers crowded around the front, so Rose and Alice had pulled the blinds down tightly. Alice looked up, startled by our sudden appearance.

"Oh my God, what happened?" she whispered, pulling me into a tight hug.

I shook my head. "I have no idea. The only people we saw last night were the ticket girl at the theater and Angela at Mr. Chang's."

Rose groaned. "Angela? That girl can't keep a secret to save her life."

Edward sat on the arm of the couch and pulled me close to his side while we watched the news. It was huge in town that Edward Cullen was here and dating one of their own. The shots alternated between our house and Edward's apartment building. They hadn't noticed our departure from one or arrival at the other.

Emmett appeared out of the back hall, looking pissed. His face visibly relaxed when he saw Edward.

"Eddie, glad you're safe. Disguises?"

Edward nodded. "Wigs."

Emmett nodded back and put his hands on his hips, studying the TV with the rest of us. "Well, I've got you a room at the best hotel in town, but that's not saying much. We'll have security, too, for you. You too, Bella, if you want it."

"Security?" I asked with surprise. "Why would I need security?"

Emmett and Edward exchanged glances. "Sometimes fans get a little overzealous," Edward hedged. "Especially with girls I'm seeing."

"Overzealous how?" demanded Rose.

"In the past, women have had their clothes torn."

I stared at them in shock. "You couldn't have told me this _before_ I stayed over at your apartment?"

"I'm sorry." Edward looked miserable. "That's why we've got security for you."

I groaned and dropped my head into my hands. "I don't want security. I'm not going to let them win."

"You say that now," began Edward.

I looked up at him quickly, stopping whatever else he might have been about to say. "No." I said firmly. "I'm not going to let them win. No security."

"Bella, maybe you should think about this," said Jasper nervously. "We don't want anything to happen to you."

"Nothing will," I said stubbornly. "People will forget about me soon enough. I'm a nobody."

"You are, but I'm not."

I looked up at Edward. "Are you worth all this?"

There was a gasp from Alice. I ignored her and studied Edward.

"I'm not," he said quietly. "I wish to God I were, but I'm not. I'd love for you to follow through, see where it goes, but I won't ask you to. This is not a life I'd ask for anyone."

I nodded and stared at the floor for a moment. I stood up then and wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth, our first real kiss. His arms slipped around my waist and he pulled me against him.

"I'll give you a shot, but if you break my heart, I'll break your balls."

He smiled at me and kissed my nose. "I'll treat it like my own."

***

Tali: I just want y'all to know, I'm a little frightened about the next chapter...I'm not in love with it and I'm working on it, but I've got company and actual work so I may not have it ready by tomorrow...It may not be ready until like, Sunday. Yikes. Don't hate me for breaking my rules!


	3. Chapter 3: Dry Humping in the Night

We sat in relative silence around the living room. Our dining table was too small for six so we'd set it up as a buffet table for all the food that Alice had insisted on preparing and we were perched around the coffee table to eat. Alice and Jasper were on the couch while Rose and Emmett took the two armchairs and Edward and I sat on the floor. I poked at the scrambled eggs, absolutely no appetite. Because of our silence, we could hear the faint screams and shouts outside.

"Well, this is ridiculous," announced Alice. "I spent hours shopping and cooking and no one's eating. Eat assholes."

Jasper grinned and took a large bite. I nibbled on some bacon and sighed.

"Ok, we've got to come up with a game plan. How are we going to defeat them?"

"Defeat them?" Edward looked amused. "This isn't some kind of game or something, Bella, this is real life."

"And in real life there are winners and losers. We are all winners, obviously. I mean, just look at the amount of gorgeous we've got in this room, not to mention the sheer genius of all of us put together. Plus, we're snarky and witty. We can win this."

Emmett was grinning of course. "So what ideas do you have?"

My shoulders slumped. "I got nothin', other than just living our lives and ignoring them."

"That could work." We all shot a look at Rose and she sighed. "Or not."

We all sat in quiet contemplation for a while, trying to come up with something.

"What if Edward leaves with a different person the next few times he leaves here?" asked Jasper slowly. "Like, they're going to expect Bella or Emmett, but what if the next time he left, he went out the front with me?"

"Or me," piped in Alice excitedly. "That would give them something to talk about for sure, him suddenly escorting a pregnant woman."

Rose rolled her eyes. "You just want to be seen with Edward Cullen."

"Can you blame me?"

I grinned and took a bite of eggs. "I sure don't." I winked at Edward who chuckled softly as he took a bite of his biscuit.

"Well, I don't think it would work for long, but it'd definitely be something different to try."

"You know that'll throw all of you into this nightmare, though, right?" I pointed out.

The others exchanged glances. They hadn't realized that yet.

"Well, I did tell Edward I would do anything for him," admitted Alice. "I suppose pretending my baby is his for a little while wouldn't be too bad. Would you mind, Jazz?"

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Sure go ahead, it's not like you don't do it at home."

"Shut up." She blushed and stared down at her plate.

"Changing the topic a little," I laughed. "Edward, there doesn't really seem to be a point in you moving. A town this size, there are only two hotels and two apartment buildings. They'll find you eventually. If you like where you are, I say just stay there."

Edward sighed. "Yes, you have a point. It does have fairly good security." I nodded and he shrugged. "So I'll stay. Emmett, you can cancel my reservation."

Emmett nodded and pulled out a phone, making a note on it apparently before slipping it back in his pocket.

"I give up," Alice said, exasperated. She pushed herself up and started gathering up our plates. "I cook all morning for you people and this is the thanks I get."

Edward and Emmett quickly started shoveling food into their mouths.

"S'wonerful," Edward mumbled. "Bess ah eer ha."

Alice beamed and looked at me pointedly. "You could learn a thing or two from him you know."

I stared at her incredulously. "What, how to talk with my mouth full? I mastered that as a child."

"No, how to be polite and complimentary. You're always mean and snarky."

"But if I wasn't snarky, you'd think I'd been replaced by body snatchers or something." I kept my plate, grinning up at her. "Snarky is what I do best, baby."

She rolled her eyes and shuffled off into the kitchen.

Edward and Emmett stayed until about 2, then it was time for Edward to report in for work. Alice bundled up as best she could and beamed at me while Edward pulled on his coat.

"Take our picture," she instructed, handing the camera over to Jasper. He rolled his eyes but obeyed. Edward even got into it, putting his hands on her belly and looking at the camera in horror. They joked around, taking several silly shots before a semi-normal "going off to prom" pose was assumed in front of the fireplace.

"Happy?" I laughed.

"Beyond." Alice grinned at me, then turned to Jasper and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. "I love you so much you know."

"I know." He grinned down at her.

I turned to Edward and grinned up at him. "Do I get to have my picture taken with the famous Edward Cullen too?"

"Sure anytime." He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing me deeply and setting my whole body atingle. "But later. I've got to get to work. Have to earn my keep and all that."

"Right. Come by later?"

He grinned. "Try and stop me." he pulled me close for another kiss before wrapping his arm around Alice and heading out the door. Jasper went out the back to follow at a safe distance to pick Alice up and bring her back. The rest of us started the clean-up process. The screaming intensified for a little while as the two in the front climbed into a car and set off.

"You realize we sent two people who rarely drive out in a car, right? And neither really knows where they're going?"

Emmett started laughing. "Awesome. I suppose I should make sure he gets there in one piece."

Rose grinned and kissed him goodbye. A moment later she and I were alone in the house.

"So. How's things?" she asked casually.

I laughed. "Oh, they're great. I love waking up and discovering that I've made the news. It's a perfect way to start the day."

"I'll bet. So what happened last night?"

I grinned at the sink full of dirty dishes. "Movie, dinner, bed."

"And in bed?"

"Reading, talking and sleeping."

"Dirty talking?"

"We didn't think to discuss laundry or dishes, so no."

She pinched me. "If you weren't my best friend that would annoy me."

"You mean it didn't? I'm losing my touch."

She grinned and somehow managed to get more leftovers into the groaning refrigerator. "I guess it's a good thing Emmett eats like a horse."

"Alice, too. Did you see how much pasta she put away Friday night? It was almost frightening."

"I know!" she stared at me wide eyed. "I thought the whole eating for two was just an excuse but damn! I think the last person I saw eat that much in one sitting was one of your brothers after a football game."

I laughed and piled clean dishes in the drain. "Let her enjoy it. She eats like a bird normally, this has got to be nice to just be able to eat whatever she wants whenever she wants as much as she wants."

"True." Rose leaned one hip against the counter and stared off into space contemplatively.

"Rose, no getting pregnant just so you can eat like Alice," I said sternly.

She grinned and saluted me. "Aye aye. I think I'll get married before I start popping out babies."

"Good plan."

"What about you?"

"I'm not anywhere close to marriage and babies."

"But you're with Edward now."

I gave her a look. "Since last night. That's hardly soon enough to start talking marriage and babies. Shit, Rose, let us date and make out a little before we jump on that bandwagon."

She rolled her eyes. "I think you two will end up together. You'll have gorgeous Cullen babies and I'll get to be Auntie Rose. Oh my god, can I be your nanny?"

I looked at her with annoyance. "Would you quit planning my life for me?"

"No. You won't do it. I've already scouted locations for your wedding. He's from London, right?"

I shrugged. "You're the maniacal stalker, not me."

"Oh. He hasn't told you?"

"We haven't had the time to get that acquainted yet."

"Well, he is. I think you should get married at Westminster Abbey. Or some castle somewhere. It'll be gorgeous. And Alice and I have picked out our bridesmaids dresses. It'll be an autumn wedding so she can lose the baby weight. We talked about waiting a few years so the kid can participate but decided that you two wouldn't really want to wait that long."

I stared at her in shock. "You've planned my wedding?"

"Of course."

I threw the dishrag at her. "Stop planning my life!" I shouted.

She grinned. "If I let you plan it, you'll get married in Vegas wearing sweats or something. If I'm lucky, jeans and a t-shirt."

I rolled my eyes. "Or I just wouldn't get married and would live in sin for all eternity."

"Well, that's no good."

"Why not?"

"Your mother would kill you."

"Good point. Well, if I have to get married, I'm doing it on my terms. And I'm not telling you what they are because I don't want you pooh-poohing them."

"Bitch."

"Slag."

"You already used that one."

"And it's as true now as it was then."

She popped me with a kitchen towel and I yelped, jumping out of the way.

"Just for that, you can't be the nanny."

"Foul," she exclaimed. "That's too harsh a punishment."

"Well, would you rather not be invited to the wedding?"

"Yes, because I'll see the pictures someone leaks to the tabloids."

"What wedding?"

We turned to see Jasper and Alice coming in the front door, their faces pinked from the cold air outside.

"Bella's wedding to Edward."

Jasper looked at me sympathetically. "They've caught you in their web. I'm so sorry."

"Thanks."

He took their coats and hung them up.

"So she doesn't like our ideas?" asked Alice, easing herself into a dining chair.

"Not especially, no," I laughed. "I don't want anything as ostentatious as Westminster Abbey. I mean, come on, isn't that where Charles and Diana got married?"

"I think so. That's why it's so perfect! You're like the next British royalty!"

I rolled my eyes at Rose. "SO so not."

"Give up, library lady," laughed Jasper. "You'll never win when these two are in cahoots."

"No lie." I handed sodas to him and Alice as I joined them at the table. "I'll just have to start keeping secrets from them. Won't that drive them nuts."

Jasper grinned and clinked cans with me. "Rock on, library lady."

***

The phone rang loudly, jarring me awake. I groaned and reached for it. It hadn't stopped since the news broke that morning. At first, I'd had it on vibrate, but while waiting for Edward, I'd turned the ringer back on so it would wake me if he called. It was incredibly difficult to sleep when the phone was ringing every two seconds.

I peered at the caller id in the dim light and groaned again, pulling myself into a sitting position.

"Hey Mom."

"Are you dating Edward Cullen?"

"Sort of." I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. "Do you even know who Edward Cullen is?"

"Of course I do," she said indignantly.

"She looked him up on the internet," Dad said on another phone.

"Hi Dad. You couldn't have waited to call in the morning?"

"Sweetie, its only 12:30. You're typically up much later." I looked at the clock on the DVR and sighed.

"It feels later."

"How long have you been with him?" Mom demanded.

"Total? Maybe three days? Or one and a half? I don't really know. I met him Thursday night and we went on our first date last night." I yawned again and sat back against the couch. Everyone else was already in bed and Edward was working.

"So when were you going to tell me?"

"Crap, Mom, it just happened! Give me a chance to figure out what the hell we are before I start proclaiming it to the world."

"Well, someone obviously found out or the whole world wouldn't already know."

I scowled. "So did you just call to bitch me out or is there some other purpose for this phone call?"

Mom sighed. "Sorry, we were just surprised is all. It's not every day we're watching television and our daughter's face appears on it. And what in the _world_ were you wearing?"

I grinned in spite of myself. I knew Mom would be irritated at the picture that had been aired. "I didn't give them that picture. It was something Chris took one day while we were building sets."

"But you clean up so nicely dear."

"I know, Mom."

"So are you going to bring him home sometime?" broke in Dad.

I grimaced. "Are you kidding? I'd kind of like to keep him around for a while. You scared off the last couple of guys I brought home."

"Well, if we were able to scare them off, they weren't worth your time."

"Dammit, Dad, you met them on the porch looking like something out of _Deliverance_," I laughed.

Mom and Dad were both laughing. "If we promise to behave will you bring him home?" asked Mom hopefully.

I groaned. "Not you too?"

"I won't let the boys come for dinner if that helps."

I rubbed my face tiredly. "I'll talk to him about it but he's pretty busy with work, you know."

"We know." There was a long silence.

"Baby Girl, is he good to you?"

I felt a small lump in my throat. "Yeah Dad, so far, he's good to me. I mean, he's taken me to a movie and bought me dinner and that's it, but he's sweet and nice and pretty amazing."

"Good. I have a couple guns and a dog and a big yard, Baby Girl. Don't let him forget that."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes sir. I love you."

"Love you too," my parents chorused.

I flipped my phone closed and laid down on the couch again, determined to sleep but knowing it was probably pretty useless at this point. I stared up at the ceiling in the darkness and wondered what the hell was going on in my life.

I rolled off the couch and headed to the bathroom, bored enough to shower. I couldn't turn on the TV without waking people and I couldn't get to my computer. The shower was actually something I could do without waking people up, strangely enough. I turned on the water and held my hand under the stream to gauge the temperature before pulling my clothes off and climbing in.

The hot water felt good against my skin, warming me up from the outside in. Before I got it wet, I twisted my hair up in a messy bun and secured it with a hair tie. No need to wash it twice in one day.

I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, letting the hot water wash over my breasts and stomach, dripping down my legs and running over my feet. I was somewhat tempted to relieve some tension but felt guilty with so many other people in the house. I bit my lip and slowly started to slide a hand down my stomach to areas south.

"Bella?"

I jumped and shrieked, nearly falling in the tub. I peaked around the edge of the curtain and saw Edward standing in the door, an amused look on his face.

"What the fuck?" I hissed. "I'm so going to staple a bell to your ass so I have some warning when you're coming."

He grinned. "My ass wouldn't appreciate that. Plus, since I have a bare bottom scene in an upcoming movie, I don't think the public would, either."

I made a face at him. He simply laughed and leaned against the sink. "Showering at midnight? Is this something you normally do?"

I frowned at him, letting the curtain fall back into place to turn off the water. I reached my hand out and grabbed my towel, wrapping it around myself before pulling the curtain back so I could get out. Edward was grinning at me. I blushed and in my embarrassment, I slipped in the tub and fell forward.

Edward moved quickly and caught me, though my momentum still managed to take us both down and we landed in a heap on the floor, his arms around my waist and the towel riding up high on my legs.

"Well, this is definitely an interesting position we find ourselves in," Edward grinned at me.

I sighed and rested my forehead against his chest. "Are you trying to kill me?"

He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. "You know I can see some of your bits now."

"I know."

"Everything ok?"

We both looked up at the rest of the household standing in the open doorway. Alice was practically bouncing on her toes she was so excited to see Edward again. Apparently, being his escort for a little while hadn't been nearly enough for her. Jasper was trying to pull her away but she had dug in her heels and refused to move. Rose was in her t-shirt and, thankfully because of our angle, a pair of panties and Emmett was close behind her in a pair of boxers. He was grinning, like usual, his arms around Rose's waist and his head on her shoulder.

"We're fine, actually," grinned Edward, sliding one hand down and gently tugging on the edge of the towel in a vain attempt to cover me.

"If you'll excuse us," I huffed, reaching up and pushing the door shut "we're in the middle of my trying to crush Edward with my weight. It's not going very well because he can still talk." I shifted my weight then, ever so slightly moving my leg and rolling my hips against his. He shot me a look and I grinned slyly.

"Good night," called Rose with a laugh.

"Not on the bathroom floor, you'll get a crick in your back," shouted Alice.

I laughed and looked down at Edward. "Close your eyes."

"No."

"Oh, come on. I need to get up and I'm pretty sure that there's no way I can do it while holding on to the towel. I'm not ready for you to see me naked."

"Maybe I'm ready to see you naked."

"If I have to be naked, so do you."

"That's not a problem."

I frowned. I hadn't actually thought that through. "Come on, please?"

He sighed and closed his eyes. I reached up and grabbed an extra towel and tossed it over his face before scrambling to my feet and tightening the towel around my chest. I nudged him with my foot and he sat up, pulling the towel off his head and grinning at me.

"I thought you were working late," I commented as I pulled on my panties under the towel. Edward watched with interest.

"I did too, but there was an issue with the set so I got the night off. I was hoping I could come and spend it with you."

I smiled and pulled my t-shirt on over the towel, then pulled the towel loose. "That's a sweet thought, but you realize I'm sleeping on a couch here, right?"

"Yeah. Why do you go to such lengths to keep your body covered from me?"

I flushed. "Please, the girls you normally see have fantastic bodies and mine is nothing like that. I don't exercise, I don't eat healthy, I don't do any of that stuff that your typical girls do. I suppose I'm a little nervous about you being completely turned off by my body."

He stared at me in shock. I sighed and turned away, tossing my towel over the shower curtain rod and then reached for my pants.

"Bella." Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me against him, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me deeply.

I was caught off guard but leaned into him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He moved one hand down and slipped it under the hem of my t-shirt, rubbing his hand across the bare skin of my back. I groaned softly and wrapped my leg around his.

"Shit, you're going to kill me."

He grinned and kissed along my jaw to my ear. "I'm not trying to kill you, just make you melt."

"Well, you're succeeding perfectly. I'm going to need a change of underwear."

"Perfect." He lightly tweaked my earlobe with his teeth and I felt like I was going to fall.

"Ok, enough." I pushed him away, my breathing ragged.

He held my hands in his, his own breath coming in gasps and his eyes black. "Right. Sorry. Should I go?"

I bit my lip and his eyes instantly dropped to my mouth. I grinned and shook my head. "Stay. We'll cuddle on the couch."

He grinned. "You're totally allowed to come back to my apartment you know."

I kissed his jaw and snuggled against his chest. "I know, but I think if we went to your place things would go too far."

He groaned and put both hands on my bare waist. "I personally don't see that as a bad thing."

I put my arms back around his neck and rested my forehead against him again. "It's only been three days. Can I at least have a week?"

He laughed softly. "Sure, but there are other things we can do."

"Oh fuck yes." I pulled back and smiled up at him. He kissed me again and we started to make our way back to the living room. I paused to grab my pants.

"You can only bring them if you don't put them on."

"I'll get cold."

"I'll take care of that. No pants."

I felt a little shiver go through me as we made our way through the dark, quiet house. I watched as Edward pulled the back cushions off the couch so it was roughly the width of a twin sized bed. I suddenly loved that we had such a deep couch. He sat on the edge and pulled off his shoes before standing up and undoing his pants and draping them over the back of the armchair. He pulled his sweater over his head and it soon joined his pants. I shivered from cold and stretched out on the couch, snuggling under the quilt that I'd been sleeping under earlier. Edward grinned at me and crawled in next to me.

"So how was work?" I asked when he was settled.

He laughed softly. "I want to fool around and you're asking about work?"

I grinned. "I have to keep you on your toes, Cullen. Otherwise you'll get too comfortable and maybe start taking me for granted. I can't have that."

"So you talk about work and mundane tasks and I'll work on distracting you." He kissed my neck, moving one hand up to palm my breast under my shirt.

"Now that's not fair," I managed. "I should get to try to distract you. I bet I'd be good at it."

"I bet you would." His other hand was moving south and I grunted as his fingers ghosted over my hip bone. "You can try, but I'm not terribly interested in discussing work at the moment."

"My mom called a little while ago," I blurted out. "My parents want to meet you."

This stopped him. I grinned up at him as he slowly pulled his hands back. "Your mother."

I nodded. "They live in the Dallas area. Sort of. They heard about us on TV."

He sighed. "Yeah, my mum called me today and asked about you. She wants to know if we're serious or not."

"And?"

He rolled his eyes and reached above me to turn off the lamp. "I told her it was too soon to tell but that if it was, I'd bring you home."

I smiled and wrapped around his body, leeching his warmth. "I told mine we were living in sin and that I was pregnant with your love child."

"Shit, I didn't even get to enjoy impregnating you."

"Yeah, you slept right through it," I teased. "That'll show you not to go to sleep when I'm around."

"No kidding." Suddenly he was pulling my leg up, hitching it over his hip. "That can easily be rectified, you know."

"Other things, remember?"

"Right." he didn't release my leg but slid his hand up my thigh to cup my butt. I lay quietly, tense and wondering what he was going to do next. One of his fingers started to lightly stroke me through my panties. "Other things like this?"

"Mmhm." I didn't trust my voice at the moment. It might betray me and decide to just have sex with him. At this point, even my brain was debating the rules since every other part of my body was definitely wanting to go full steam ahead.

Another finger joined the first before they slipped under the edge of my panties and made contact with my skin. I groaned, barely remembering myself and that there were other people in the house.

"Do you like that?"

"Mm." I made a fist, his t-shirt in my hand. He chuckled softly against me and added a third finger.

"See, if you'd just stayed naked, this would be a lot easier."

"But I'm not easy."

"I didn't say that."

"You must be thinking it, though. I mean, hell, you're fingering me three days after meeting me." I sucked in my breath as he slipped one finger inside of me.

"If you were easy, we'd have already had sex and I'd have already forgotten your name if I'd even bothered to ask for it."

My ability to talk had shut down now. Edward was extremely good with his hands. I couldn't help my hips moving against his hand and his own hips. I could feel his arousal pressed against my stomach and I managed to release his shirt and move my hand down to stroke him through the fabric of his boxers.

He groaned softly. "That feels nice."

I grinned in the darkness and slipped my hand under the waistband to touch his skin. He hissed as I wrapped my fingers around him. I lightly stroked him as he stroked me.

"Wouldn't this be better if…"

"Yes but no."

He grunted and rubbed against my hand, moving slowly and somehow managing to keep moving his fingers.

"Are you awake?"

"Yes."

"Enjoy the dry humping."

I grinned and shifted slightly so I could press him onto his back and be astride him. It was awkward at first as he tried to keep his hand in place. I finally pulled it away.

"You can finish me in a minute." I released him and rocked against him. He groaned again, a tiny bit louder this time, and pulled me down and forward. I grinned and moved with him, leaning down and kissing him solidly.

He groaned louder though it was muffled against my mouth. I grinned as he tensed and shuddered beneath me.

"Well, that's embarrassing," he muttered, his hands heavy on my thighs.

"Why?" I smoothed his hair out of his face.

"I didn't last very long did I?"

I laughed softly and kissed his neck, rolling to his side, my leg still thrown across his hips. "I've been teasing you for three days now."

"This is true." He lightly dragged his fingertips up and down my bare arm. "Did I get any on you?"

I ran a hand down my stomach and lightly across my crotch. "Nope, only wet there is me."

He grinned and moved his hand down to cup me. "I think it's your turn now."

I flushed slightly as he now moved me onto my back and stretched out on his side beside me. He watched me intently as he stroked me and the heat started to build up in my stomach. I made a very unladylike sound and he smiled at me. Suddenly, he withdrew his hand and sat up, hovering over me awkwardly. I was confused until I felt his fingers hook over the waistband of my panties and started to pull them down.

"Edward," I began but he shook his head.

"I know. I couldn't at the moment if I wanted to anyway."

I bit my lip and nodded, lifting my hips to help him ease the fabric off. He dropped it lightly on the floor beside the couch and then, to my complete and utter shock, he kissed me. There.

"Shit," I hissed as his tongue lazily dragged up the sensitive skin. I grabbed the blankets and had everything I could do not to smother him with my thighs. This didn't take very long at all. The heat in my stomach exploded and flooded the rest of my body. I held in my exclamations, though just barely.

Edward grinned at me, wiping his lips lightly as he crawled back up beside me, kissing my neck and pulling me close against his chest.

"So, now what?"

I laughed drowsily. "Talk? Or sleep? You decide."

"I was thinking maybe a little clean up, actually."

I nodded and rolled so I was on top of him. "Yeah, but give me a minute. I just used up the last of my energy."

He laughed softly and wrapped his arms around my waist. "We can talk until then, I suppose."

"Mm."

"So, I get to ask the questions now, right?"

"Sure. Ask away."

"Who was your first real love?"

"Well, every girl's first love is her dad, didn't you know that?"

He laughed softly. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah yeah." I was quiet for a moment, thinking. "I suppose that would be Abel Escobedo. He was a couple years older than I was and I just adored him."

"Where'd you meet?"

"High school. We were in ROTC together."

"ROTC?"

"Reserve Officers Training Corps. Kind of like Army Super-Lite."

He laughed. "So you wanted to be in the army?"

"No, it was a PE credit. We were Air Force, actually, and wore the dress blues once a week. We marched in parades and shit like that. It wasn't bad. I made some friends there."

"So you were lazy."

"Pretty much. I had no interest in sports or marching band and only real weirdoes do gym."

He laughed again. "Please tell me there are pictures of you in uniform."

"Yeah, somewhere. I'm sure Mom's got a shit-ton of them. She doesn't throw anything away."

"I'm definitely going to meet your parents now, if only to see that picture."

I grinned. "So what did you do for PE?"

He grinned up at me, toying with my hair. "Gym."

We talked quietly for a while before we stood up and moved quietly into the bathroom. Edward pulled his boxers off carefully and wiped at the mess while I pulled on my pajama pants and snuck into my room to get a clean pair of panties.

Alice and Jasper were dead to the world, thankfully. They slept hard and I knew from experience it would take a lot more than me retrieving panties to wake them. I quickly retrieved some and tiptoed back out.

Edward was in the bathroom, a towel around his waist as he hand-washed his boxers in the sink.

"We've got a washing machine, you know," I teased, switching my pants for the fresh panties.

He grinned. "It seems pointless for one thing."

"I can throw in my panties if you want, maybe your pants."

"Oh, well, in that case." He rolled his eyes and kept washing. I slipped my arms around his waist and rested my cheek against his back.

"So how was work?"

He chuckled softly. "Tense. Everyone blames me for the anonymity being ruined."

I nodded against his back. "Well, it kind of is your fault."

"Well, if they didn't want the publicity I bring, they shouldn't have cast me." He sounded irritated so I slipped around so I was face to face.

"Calm down," I said softly.

He was scowling at me and I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Edward."

He rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly. "Fine. I'm calm."

I laughed. "Bullshit."

"I'm trying."

I nodded and kissed him lightly. "I know you are." I turned and took the boxers from his hands and rinsed and wrung them out. "I'll toss these in the dryer and you'll be good to go in a little while."

He nodded and followed me into the hall and towards the laundry room. He leaned against the door and watched while I tossed the underwear in the dryer and turned it on.

"You seem at home with domesticity."

"I am," I admitted. "The cooking and cleaning thing isn't my favorite way to spend a day, but once in a while, I really enjoy it. I like preparing a meal that my friends and loved ones enjoy and I enjoy having a clean house, even if I don't do it very often."

He grinned and followed me back into the living room. We inspected the blankets on the couch and decided they were fine before crawling back in and snuggling close, Edward's lower half still wrapped in the towel.

"So if you were to get married someday, would you want to keep your career or become a housewife?"

"Well, if I had kids, I'd like to stay home with them, but I'd like to still have my job, too. It's a conundrum."

"Could you go part-time with your job?"

"Probably."

"Then there you go. Problem solved."

I laughed softly and shook my head. "What did I ever do without you?"

"I really don't know. You seem to have just been hanging on by a thread until I came along and tossed you a lifeline."

"My hero." I fluttered my eyelashes up at him and he laughed.

"I do what I can."

I nodded and rested my cheek against his chest. We were quiet for a while. "Edward?"

"Yes?"

"Don't freak out or anything, but if we were to become serious, what kind of life would I have?"

He was thoughtful. "It would be different from this one, that's for sure. You most likely wouldn't be able to work at the job you have now, though I'm fairly sure you could find something to do since you do accents so well. You could do voice work, you know."

"Really?" I asked with surprise.

"Oh yes. Rose told Emmett you were brilliant at accents and voices, being my girlfriend or wife or whatever would definitely open some doors for you."

I nodded, not sure how I felt about that. "I think," I said slowly, thinking carefully about what I was about to say, "that if I were to do something like that, I would want it to be for me, not for who I'm with, you know?"

"I understand." He kissed the top of my head. "I would expect nothing less from you. If you're actually interested in something like that, Emmett can help. I make fun of him, but he's actually quite fantastic at his job. He would submit your tapes anonymously or under a fake name for a bit until you were established."

"I'll definitely keep that in mind. But otherwise, I'd basically have to be a kept woman, right?"

"Probably. I mean, Chris O'Donnell's wife teaches kindergarten, but then, he's not as popular as I am at the moment."

I grinned. "I could start my own library or something. Make it work for me."

"Whatever you'd want to do, I'd support."

"Well, of course. Otherwise my dad or brothers would castrate you."

"Just how many brothers do you have?"

I laughed. "Three. All older. I'm the princess so don't fuck with me."

"Three older brothers? That's truly terrifying."

"You should be. They're all Texans through and through: hunting, ranching, all that type of shit. Well, maybe not the ranching, but they all go shooting on a regular basis and one's ex-military."

"Married?"

"All three. My oldest brother, Rhett, has three boys."

"Rhett?"

I laughed. "My mom was in a _Gone with the Wind_ phase when she was pregnant with him. We're all named after literary characters."

"Really now?" he looked intrigued. "Who are you named after?"

I grimaced. "A sister in _Wuthering Heights_. God, I hate that book. I wanted to bomb them all."

He laughed. "It's a classic."

"A classic that sucks, in my opinion."

"So why not Catherine?"

"Mom thought it was too ordinary. She liked Isabella better."

"So who are your other two brothers?"

"Well, second is Alexander. He was named after Alexei in _Anna Karenina_. Mom had to stop reading such heavy stuff because it made her suicidal, but she loved the name Alexei. Dad vetoed it and we ended up with Alexander."

"Suicidal?"

"Seriously, have you ever read that book?"

He shook his head.

"It's sad."

He grinned. "And three?"

"Three is Aron, after the son in_ East of Eden_."

"The good one."

"Yep. Mom thought about naming me Abra, but it was pointed out that Abra and Aron are sweethearts and that might be creepy, so she found a new book and here I am, Isabella."

"Wow."

"Yes. Anything interesting about your name?"

He shook his head. "Not a damn thing. Edward was my father's father and Anthony is my mother's father."

I grinned. "So even though you have an older brother, you're named after the grandfathers?"

"Roger's named after Dad."

"Oh. Good thing you weren't born first. I'm not a fan of the name Roger."

He chuckled softly. "Good thing then. Would you have been attracted to me if my name was something awful like…Cletus?"

I snorted. "Where the hell did you get Cletus?"

"One of the guys who does repairs on the set is named Cletus."

I chuckled and shook my head. "No, I could never be attracted to a man named Cletus. I'm sorry."

"Well, then I'll have to stop the paperwork. I rather like it. I was thinking it would be a fantastic name for a child."

"You are such an ass."

"I know, but you seem to like my ass, so I don't see that as a bad thing."

I laughed again and sighed softly, glancing at the clock.

"Shit, its almost 4."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Yes. I have to be at work at 7:30."

"Well, we'll just stay up and then you can sleep tomorrow after work."

"Great. In the meantime, I'll be dragging some serious ass. I think it would be detrimental to my job if I fell asleep in the middle of a show."

"Probably. Tell them you're dreaming up new ideas."

"Seriously don't think that would work."

"Well, we can sleep I suppose. Do you still want me to wake you for dry humping?"

"No, I think I'm good for now. Let me sleep."

"Will do." He kissed my forehead. "Good night Bella Swan."

I grinned. "Good night Edward Cullen."

***

I was relieved the next morning to find that the crowd outside had pretty much dispersed in the night due to the cold and lack of activity. I was able to drive straight to the library and head in without any trouble. Gladys was the only person there and she waved as I made my way up the stairs to my tiny office in the back of the theater.

It was freezing cold in here and I grumbled as I kicked the small hotel window unit on the floor. It wheezed to life and started to spit out cold air before it slowly warmed up. I flipped on my computer and moved around the small space, checking my stock of puppet making supplies and my paper goods. There wasn't tons to do first thing in the morning but it was better than just standing around waiting for the heat to warm up the room and the computer to turn on.

"Bella?"

I turned and grinned at Chris, the library director. "Hey, how was your weekend?"

"Good. I saw you on the news."

I grimaced. "Yeah. Where did they get that picture?"

He laughed. "I have no idea. It's on the bulletin board in the break room so I guess there, but the only copy is still there."

I sighed and sat in my chair and leaned forward, resting my chin in my hands. "The press might come here."

"I thought of that. I'm not sure what we can do about it, to be honest. It's a public library."

"Great." I slumped back in my seat.

"Bella, if it becomes an issue in regards to the patrons of the library, you know I have to do something about it."

I nodded glumly. This thought had been niggling around in the back of my head since yesterday morning. "Chris, you can't fire me for dating someone."

"I won't fire you, Bella, you'll always have a job here. I just…I might have to put you on a paid leave of absence."

I nodded again. "Should I just take some time now and save us all a lot of hassle?"

"It's up to you," he said honestly, settling in the chair on the other side of my desk. "I'm willing to give you a chance, see how bad it really gets."

"Thanks."

He looked down at his hands then, studying them. "You'll have to be really careful, though. I'm worried about when you're doing your real life thing."

"Me too."

"Has it been bad so far?"

"Not really. The photographers camped outside the house and Edward's apartment over the weekend, chased us shouting and taking pictures that I'm sure are already online by now. We're not terribly interesting because we stayed in except for work from the moment they found out about us."

"So you're ok to just sit in the house for the next however long it takes for life to get back to normal?"

I laughed. "As long as I'm with Edward and he's insanely popular, it will never go back to normal, Chris. For now, I just want to get used to the idea of being a couple, then of being a couple with Edward Cullen, then of being someone the world wants to know about. Once I'm adjusted to all that, I'll start being normal again."

Chris laughed and stood up then. "Well, sounds like you've got some kind of game plan. Want me to bring you some coffee?"

"Did Gladys make it?"

"Yeah."

"I'll wait until Tess gets here."

He laughed. "Smart lady."

***

I checked my watch, relieved the day had gone by relatively quickly. Sometimes in the winter, it had a tendency to drag by and as tired as I was, I'd expected it to take at least 24 hours to be 8 hours. I stretched in my seat and then stood up, turning off my computer and flipping the switch on the heater. I gathered up my things, wrapping the scarf around my neck before pulling on my coat. I paused, something sounding a little off outside my door. I pulled open my door and froze.

The press was everywhere, the flash bulbs going off in my face and temporarily blinding me. I stared in shock as they started shouting my name, asking questions about me and Edward, some of them incredibly personal. I slammed the door shut and stared at it in shock. I fumbled over to my desk and picked up my phone, punching in Chris's extension shakily.

"Chris Madison."

"Chris, I'm blocked in. the theater is full of photographers and reporters. Only way out I can see is the window."

He swore under his breath. "Ok, so what do you want me to do? Bust in and carry you off to safety?"

I laughed and shook my head. "No, maybe just, I don't know, be aware. I'm going for the side door since its closer to the parking lot."

"Alright. Be careful."

"Will do."

I hung up and took a deep breath. I really didn't want to do this, but the only other option was crawling out a second story window and dropping onto the awning over the front doors and that did not appeal to me in the slightest.

I got a firm grip on my purse, pulled my hat down low on my head and shoved my hands into my gloves. I patted myself to make sure I had my cell phone and keys easily accessible and set the lock so it would lock behind me.

I opened the door again and the shouting and flashing started again. I ignored it all and pulled my door shut, shouldering my way though the crowds of people waving cameras and microphones in my face. I stumbled slightly on the stairs and the camera popping became more frantic.

"Great," I muttered under my breath, gripping the banister carefully as I hurried down the stairs. The side door was mercifully unblocked so I made my way out and practically ran to my car, glad for the millionth time for the clicker.

I carefully and quickly pulled out and made my way to the house. I felt a little part of me die when I saw that the crowd outside the house had swelled from that morning. I honked at the people standing in the driveway as I opened the garage.

Rose's car wasn't back yet, she wouldn't be home for a few hours yet. I was tempted to call her and tell her to run, but that wouldn't do anyone any good. I hoped that Jasper and Alice had gotten away alright after I left. I knew Edward probably hadn't.

I sat in the car until the garage was closed securely behind me and then dragged myself inside.

The house was comparatively quiet and calm. I immediately went to my room, kicked off my shoes and crawled under the covers. My phone rang again and I contemplated throwing it at the wall. I reconsidered when I saw it was Edward.

"Hello?"

"Hey, everything ok?"

I sighed. "Well, sort of. I made it out alive."

He laughed softly. "Good for you. I'm working overnight tonight so I can't see you."

"That's ok. I think I need a night of actual sleep instead of the dry humping and oral sex."

"But that's my favorite part of the evenings."

I laughed. "It would be. Keep warm, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am. Dream of me?"

I laughed again. "Try and stop me."

***

Tali: I did it! I wrote a whole chapter in less than 24 hours! My fingers and brain hurt. Hopefully it doesn't suck. I don't have time to do a reread because I have company coming any minute, so apologies for errors spell check didn't catch. Let me know and I'll fix them and upload the edited version.


	4. Chapter 4: Innocent Bystanders

I looked up when my office door opened and a little tow-headed girl poked her head in.

"Bella?"

I smiled and pushed back from my desk. "Hi Julie. How are you today?"

She shrugged one small shoulder and nervously twisted the doorknob. "Can I hide in here today?"

"Sure." I stood up and walked around the front of my desk. I was in jeans and a sweater today since I was writing. She came over and wrapped her arms around me, pressing her face against my stomach. "What happened?" I asked gently, stroking her hair.

She sighed. "They were making fun of me again."

I nodded and sat down in the chair in front of my desk, pulling her into my lap. Julie had become a frequent visitor to my office over the past school year ever since her teacher lost track of her during their first trip in September. Julie had wandered into the theater where I was working on a set and had sat quietly, watching with fascination, unaware of the frantic search in the rest of the library. I hadn't been aware of her presence until Chris had barged into the theater, realizing it was the only place they hadn't looked for her yet. After that, Julie would seek me out whenever her class came and she would help me make puppets or paint sets or just sit and talk.

Julie was the youngest child of six and her parents seemed to be a little frazzled and distracted by their older more troublesome children. I could relate, in a way. She was painfully thin and her family didn't have much money so she was always in torn stained hand-me-downs from her older brothers and sisters. I started bringing cookies to work when I knew her class was coming, hoping to help stave off the hunger she always brought with her.

"Am I really a stick girl?" she asked suddenly.

I laughed. "Maybe a little, but when you get older, those girls will be jealous of you and wish they were skinny."

She thought about that for a moment. "So being skinny isn't bad?"

"It's not bad if it's natural," I countered. "If you starve yourself or hurt yourself to be skinny, then in is bad. You're just skinny naturally." I wasn't going to point out she was skinny because her parents didn't have enough money to feed her properly. She was always fighting off her older brothers for food from what I gathered.

We sat and chatted for a while until the familiar tap on my door, signifying it was time for her to go. Julie jumped up happily and opened it. She froze when suddenly dozens of flashbulbs went off, startling and blinding both of us. I jumped up behind her and slammed the door shut, shielding her with my body.

"What was that?" she whispered.

"Photographers," I muttered. I stalked over to my desk and grabbed my phone, punching in Chris's extension savagely.

"I know, we're trying, Bella," he answered, sounding harried.

"How do they keep getting in?" I demanded. "That's the third time this week, Chris."

"Bella, we're a public library," he said patiently.

I grunted and looked over at Julie who was nervously nibbling on a cookie now.

"I've got Julie in here with me. How do we get her out?"

He sighed. "You may just have to forge through."

"Shit," I muttered. I glanced over quickly but Julie was peeking out through the window on my door. There were still flashes of light coming through the blinds.

"We're coming out," I told Chris. "Tell her teacher to be ready."

"Ok. Bella, we'll need to talk about this, ok?"

"Chris, don't. Don't say it."

He sighed. "Just come to my office afterwards, ok?"

I hung up the phone without responding. "Julie, come here sweetie."

She walked over to me immediately. I looked at her carefully for a moment. "We're going to go out there, ok? There's going to be people taking your picture but I think it'll be best if they don't see your face."

"They already did, Bella."

I grimaced. She was right. "Ok, then smile real big for them, ok?"

She nodded. "Who are they? Why do they want my picture?"

"They want my picture," I sighed. "I have a friend who people like to take his picture and since I'm a friend, they want to take my picture."

She nodded, seeming to understand. "Can we offer them cookies?"

I laughed and picked up the plate. "Sure, why not." We stepped to the door and I took a deep breath before opening it.

The flash bulbs went off again, blinding us momentarily. Julie pressed against my leg, suddenly shy. I squeezed her tightly and held out the plate.

"Cookies?"

There was a momentary lull and then a few men stepped forward and helped themselves. I handed the plate off to them and started towards the stairs. The flashing started again and suddenly they were shouting.

"Bella! Tell us about Edward! Are you two exclusive?"

"Bella, are you moving in with him?"

"Is he living with you?"

"How long have you two been together?"

Julie tripped and I scooped her up, holding her on my hip as I hurried down the stairs, the photographers close behind me. I froze when I saw more at the foot of the stairs. The library lobby was full of them. Julie pressed her face into my shoulder and I rubbed her back soothingly. Truth be told, I was terrified myself. I took a deep breath and forged ahead, ignoring the shouts. I put my head down and pushed through the crowds. I looked up briefly to find Julie's teacher and saw with relief that she was at the door. I practically shoved Julie at her and pushed her out the door as she hurried away. I watched to make sure she made it to the bus safely then turned and pushed my way back through the crowds to Chris's office.

My head was pounding and I was seeing spots. I was starting to see the wisdom in letting Edward hire security for me. I wouldn't mind some big burly men forging a path for me right about now. I finally made it to Chris's office and nearly fell through the door into his office. He stood up and came over quickly, shutting the door and turning to look at me.

"You look like hell."

"Thanks."

He sighed. "Bella, we can't keep doing this. Its disruptive to the library, our patrons won't come in because of the crowds and the children are scared."

I nodded and stared at the floor, waiting for it.

"Bella, I'm going to have to at least put you on a leave of absence, at least until this is all over with."

"Chris, that's not fair. You can't fire me for dating someone."

"I'm not firing you, Bella," he looked pained. "I'm putting you on a leave of absence. A _paid_ leave of absence. Well, paid for a few weeks anyway."

"So I'm being forced to take my vacation and sick time?"

He sighed again. "Yeah, basically."

I stood up and started pacing. "Chris, come on, let me just work from home. I can work on the scripts and the puppets there."

"You can't build sets or put on shows there, though."

"I'll figure it out," I exploded. "I'll hire security."

"I know what I pay you, Bella," he said gently. "I think this is the best option."

I slumped down in my seat, defeated.

Chris squeezed my shoulder. "We'll have a place for you when things go back to normal, Bella."

I nodded dully. I was beginning to think they wouldn't go back to normal. I stood up and headed out, ignoring the flashing and shouting again as I made my way back up to my office. It was just a couple of hours before I was off, so I went ahead and closed up shop for the day…or forever. I pulled everything personal off the computer and put it on my jump drive and packed up all my pictures and personal belongings in a bag I had in the bottom drawer of my desk.

As I was reaching for the doorknob, my cell phone rang. I grabbed it and sighed. It was Edward.

"Hey," I answered tiredly.

"I'm so sorry. Need me to come rescue you?"

I snorted dryly. "I don't think that would help things, Edward. How did you hear?"

"It's on the news."

"Great. Is it on the news that I've been put on leave of absence?"

"Shit, really?"

"Yes."

He was silent for a beat. "Can I come over tonight?"

"I don't know; think you can get through the crowds?"

"I'll find a way. Want me to bring anything?"

"Alcohol. Lots of it."

"See you at 8."

I sighed and slipped the phone in my pocket. I was getting sick of this and it had only been a week. I rested my forehead against the door for a moment before locking the door and flipping the lights off. I glanced around one last time to check if there was anything I needed to take with me. Thankfully, there wasn't. I put my earbuds in and turned on my iPod.

I made my way through the crowds, head down to keep from getting blinded, the music blasting in my ears to drown out the shouting. I smiled as Good Charlotte sang about the trials of being famous. No lies.

I headed home and by now, the press knew to get out of the way when I came home. A few even waved. I was starting to recognize faces and I nodded at them.

Rose was home early today, too. She was curled up on the couch under a pile of blankets watching an old movie on TV. I sat down by her feet and rubbed them.

"Everything ok?"

She shook her head miserably. "I think I've got the flu or something. I feel like shit."

"Need anything?"

She sighed and pushed herself up into a sitting position, pausing the movie. "No, just death. Or Emmett."

I grinned. "Is he back in LA right now?"

"Something like that." She coughed a deep chest rattling cough that made my chest hurt just listening to it. "He'll be back in two weeks when Edward's done filming."

I nodded and stood up, heading towards the kitchen. "I'll make you some cocoa. That always makes you feel better."

"Thanks, Bella." She coughed again as she laid down. I pulled the giant container of homemade cocoa mix down from the top of the fridge and set it on the counter. I filled the kettle with hot water and set it on the stove to boil while I pulled a mug down from the cabinet. I paused for a moment, thinking.

I pulled my coat back on and headed to the front door. I opened it and the flashing started immediately.

"Please stop for just a second," I shouted.

Stunned, the flashing actually stopped. I flushed and looked around. "I'm making some hot cocoa. Is anyone interested?"

There was a long silence.

"Um…I'd be interested," shrugged one photographer I'd seen every day.

I nodded and looked around. "Anyone else?"

A couple other hands went up and I smiled. "I'll be back in a bit. You may now resume your stalking."

There were a couple of chuckles and the flashing began again. I headed back inside, wondering if it would be possible to form a somewhat friendly relationship with the press and maybe ease things somewhat. I was doubtful of the final success of all this, but it was worth a shot.

I pulled more mugs out and measured out some mix into each one. When the water boiled, I poured it into the mugs and stirred, adding a dollop of whipped cream on top of each one. I carried Rose hers first then put the others on a tray and carefully went back outside.

There were more photos taken, but it wasn't as blinding as before. Maybe they were turning the flash off. I distributed the mugs, then sat on the swing and drank mine.

"Ok. I'll answer a few questions but in return you've got to do something for me."

There was quiet. "What?" asked the first guy finally.

"Can I please have some privacy? If we agree to pose for pictures and answer questions once in a while, will you let us be occasionally?"

The first guy shifted uncomfortably. "You've got to realize that this is our job, right? We get paid by the picture."

"I do," I agreed. "But wouldn't you get paid more for better pictures of us smiling and maybe posing rather than hiding our faces and scowling at you?"

"Maybe," he admitted.

"So, I'll pose and smile and answer questions, one on one so you can each have something different if you want and you leave us alone to maybe go out to dinner or something."

"Fine." The first guy grinned and held up his mug. "This is good cocoa, Bella."

I grinned. "Thanks. For that, you can come in first."

He grinned and came up the steps with a tall woman following close behind him. She had a mug, too and grinned at me as I opened the door. The faces on the people left outside were a mixture of shock and dismay and annoyance.

"Wait here," I instructed in the entrance. "I've got to do something real fast."

They nodded and looked at the pictures we'd hung with interest. I moved into the living room and sat on the coffee table.

"Rose, I've brought in a reporter and photographer. I'm going to give interviews in here. Can you move or should I go to my room?"

She stared at me. "You're giving interviews in our house when it looks like this?"

"Why not?"

"It looks horrible!"

I laughed. "It's who I am. Now people will realize I'm not some perfect little whatever. Now. Are you going to lay here like some kind of lump and let them photograph you looking like a slob or are you going to move?"

She sighed. "I'll move. Can I come be photographed too?"

"Why?"

"Why not? I'm hot. Maybe I'll get discovered."

I snorted. "Sure, go tart yourself up then come and strut your stuff."

She grinned and stood up, gathering the blankets around her and shuffling off down the hallway, her mug in hand. I quickly picked up the used tissues and tidied up the living room some. I then stuck my head into the entry way.

"Did you steal anything?"

They looked at me with surprise. "No."

"Cool beans. Come on in."

I stepped aside and let them into the living room. Again, they looked around with interest.

"May I?" asked the man, gesturing to his camera. I nodded and he started snapping photos of the living room.

"It's a mess right now because my roommate is sick."

"Rose Hale," the woman stated.

I nodded and settled onto the armchair. I watched with amusement as the woman awkwardly perched on the edge of the couch while the man snapped photos once in a while of the room. She looked incredibly uncomfortable. I suddenly had an idea and I stood up and disappeared into my room, returning with my camera. I didn't ask, I simply took their pictures. They both stared at me in shock.

"Sucks, doesn't it," I said calmly, sitting back down.

The man grinned and saluted me. "I like you."

"So what are your names?"

"I'm Jacob Black and this is my wife, Leah."

I nodded at her. "You already know who I am. I'll give you five questions."

Leah's eyes widened and she pulled out a notepad. "Ok. Are you and Edward living together?"

I snorted. "No, obviously not. You see him coming and going all the time."

"Are you planning on moving in with him?"

"Not at the moment."

"Do you think you might in the future?"

"Possibly. Never say never, right?"

Jacob grinned and snapped my picture.

"Are you two in love?"

This question surprised me. "In love?"

She nodded.

"We've only known each other for a week. I think it's a little too soon to say love."

"But you are sleeping together."

I quirked an eyebrow at her. "I believe that's a little too personal, Leah."

She grinned. "I had to try."

"True. I'll give you another one."

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Is he what you expected?"

I grinned. "He's even better."

She grinned back and made a couple of notes. "Thanks for talking to us."

"You're welcome." I stood up and shook her hand and then turned to Jacob. "You get what you wanted?"

He laughed. "Not entirely, but then Edward's not here."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, but I'm sure you know when he'll be here."

He grinned slyly and winked at me. "I've got an idea."

I walked them to the door and called in the next photographer and reporter team. I kept this up all afternoon, Rose finally making her grand entrance while I had the third team in. The reporters all asked the same questions, pretty much and took the same pictures. I half wondered if somehow, rose and my relationship would get twisted into some kind of lesbian thing. It would amuse me for sure, but I wasn't sure about the rest of our acquaintances.

I stopped after five teams, completely exhausted from work and answering the same idiotic questions. It made no sense to me why people thought we were living together when he still had the apartment downtown. True, we spent most nights together, but we had started carrying bags with a change of clothes and toiletries in them. We hadn't gotten to the point where we were leaving stuff at the other person's home.

I rinsed out the empty mugs and loaded them into the dishwasher while Rose went back to her room and crawled into bed. I ordered a pizza for dinner and started to clean up more, now that I really had the time. I wiped down the counters and the table and pulled out some plates. I even threw together a salad and set that on the table. A few minutes after all that was done, the front door opened and Edward came in, a hot pizza box in his hand.

"Hello, gorgeous," he smiled, setting the box down and pulling me into a big kiss.

I sighed and stood on my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I'm glad you're here."

He kissed my forehead and released me, shrugging out of his coat and putting his bag down. "So what happened?"

I took his coat and hung it up while he pulled some beers out of the fridge. "I'm on a leave of absence for now. The press has been taking over the library and making it difficult for regular patrons and scaring the kids. I'm a little nervous that I won't be able to go back."

Edward nodded and handed me a beer. I took a long pull on it before sitting at the table and helping myself to a piece of pizza. "Plus, I started giving interviews today."

He looked at me with surprise. "Interviews?"

I grinned. "Yeah, I gave cookies to the press at the library and took out hot cocoa today. I let five teams of people come in and take pictures and ask questions."

He stared at me now. "Seriously? Are you out of your mind?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I did it for us. They said they'd give us a little more privacy if we were a little more agreeable. If we can go out to dinner without being constantly harassed, I'm willing to give a couple of interviews or pose for a couple of pictures once in a while."

Edward sighed and sat back in his chair. "Well, it's definitely an approach I never considered before."

"Maybe it'll help."

"If not, not harm done, right?"

I snickered. "Hopefully not. I mean, all I'm telling them is the truth that's been published everywhere for the past few days. They still keep asking if we're living together and if we're serious."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Of course. Because the other media outlets could have gotten it wrong."

I pushed my plate away, my pizza only half eaten. "I'm not really that hungry tonight," I admitted. "I'm mostly just tired and annoyed."

Edward nodded. "I'm exhausted. We started before dawn today."

"Well, damn, what are we doing up?"

He grinned. "I don't want to miss the sexy fun times."

I rolled my eyes and stood up, starting towards the kitchen with our plates. "I tell you what, you go get ready for bed and I'll join you in a few minutes."

He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and kissed my neck. "I've got a better idea. Why don't we take a bubble bath together?"

I looked up at him in surprise. "Have you seen our tub?"

"I have."

"It's a regular sized tub."

"So it is."

"That makes it tricky for two."

"That makes it cozy for two."

I studied his face. "You really want to do that?"

"I really do." He gave me his best puppy dog face and I grinned, kissing him lightly.

"Alright."

"No other arguments?" He looked a little surprised.

"Nope. It's sooner than a month, but your week is up, bucko. Consider this the last of the foreplay."

He smiled was so big I thought his face was going to crack in half. He pulled me against him, kissing me harder than before. I laughed and pushed him back a little. He headed down the hall and a few moments later, I heard the water running in the tub. I quickly put the pizza away and loaded the plates into the dishwasher. I grabbed our unfinished bottles and carried them into the bathroom.

Edward had found some candles somewhere and was in the process of lighting them. I laughed when I realized they were the old birthday cake candles I'd had in my desk drawer for ages and he'd carefully set them upright in bottles of lotion.

"I sure hope that's not Rose's lotion or flammable. That would really suck to burn to death while taking a bubble bath."

He laughed softly. "I'm trying to give you ambiance."

"Fuck ambiance, just get nekkid."

He laughed louder as I pushed the door shut and locked it. I set the beers carefully on the toilet and pulled my shirt off before shimmying out of my jeans. I looked at him expectantly. His face was a perpetual grin at this point and he quickly pulled off his own jeans and sweater. I blushed as I pulled my panties and bra off and he dropped his boxers. We stood there for a moment and I felt like my head was going to explode from the sheer volume of blood in it.

"Not bad," I said finally.

He laughed and reached for me, pulling me close to his chest. Every point where my skin touched his tingled. "I'd say brilliant, actually," he murmured, leaning down and kissing me.

I smiled and pointed to the tub. "You first. You'd crush me."

He nodded and carefully lowered himself into the tub, sighing as the hot water surrounded his body. I turned off the water and joined him, leaning back against his chest. He draped his arms around me and grabbed the beers carefully. He handed me mine and then grabbed his. We sat in silence for a while, enjoying the heat and aroma of the bath.

"So now what are you going to do?" asked Edward, setting his beer down and starting to rub my shoulders.

I shrugged. "No clue. Maybe I'll become your personal assistant or something."

He grinned and leaned forward, kissing my shoulder. "I don't really need one, but you're welcome to tag along and hang out on set."

I turned awkwardly in the tub and pulled Edward forward so I could wrap my legs around him. He pulled me close to his chest and kissed me deeply, his hands moving lightly up and down my bare back.

"You ready to move this someplace else?" he asked huskily.

I grinned. "Surely am."

I disentangled myself from him and we stood up carefully. I pulled the plug on the tub as we stood and flipped on the shower to rinse off. Edward looked at me oddly. I flushed.

"I have this thing about baths," I muttered, holding my hair up and turning so the hot water got my skin and missed my hair. He laughed and grabbed two towels out of the cabinet over the toilet and held one out to me. I turned off the water and took the towel, wrapping it around myself and gathering up my dirty clothes. Edward got his and the empty bottles and we stepped out of the bathroom and crossed the hall to my room. I realized with a start that I was starting to think of it as _our_ room.

Edward pushed the door shut behind us and dropped his clothes on the floor. He took mine and added them to the pile, then pulled me against him and pulled our towels off in one fluid motion.

"Seems like you've done this before," I teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Maybe once or twice."

I nodded and pulled him into a dancing pose and started to slowly waltz him around the room. "So how many times?"

"Are you really asking how many people?"

"Maybe."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

He was quiet. "Too many."

I nodded, mulling that over. "Do you know for sure?"

He sighed. "No."

I felt something inside me change slightly. I knew he'd had a lot of girlfriends or one night stands or whatever you wanted to call them, I just hadn't expected such honesty about not really knowing the number.

Edward stopped dancing and held me against him. "Does it help that I'm clean?"

"Clean?" I looked up at him with confusion.

"I've had the full battery of tests," he explained quietly. "For insurance for the movie, we all needed to see a doctor. I've got a clean bill of health."

I flushed slightly. "It does make me feel better," I admitted.

He smiled and lifted me slightly, carrying me towards the bed. "We can just do our regular thing or even just sleep if you prefer," he said softly as he settled me under the blankets.

I nuzzled against his neck once he was in the bed, the lights off in the room. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my head. I shyly threw my leg over his hips and he chuckled in the darkness.

"Or we can go ahead."

He rolled me onto my back and kissed me, sliding his hand in between my legs and finding that spot that he was now incredibly intimate with. I shivered and groaned against him. I reached down and wrapped my hand around the part of him that I was determined to become more intimate with, the sooner the better in my opinion. He groaned softly, too and kept rubbing, adding slightly more pressure. I could tell his intentions right away and I reached with my other hand to grab his wrist.

"Don't you dare get me off first," I managed.

He stopped, surprised. "Why not?"

"I'd like to try to do it together."

His hand moved and his fingers wrapped around my other wrist. "Then move your hand."

I obeyed and shifted, pulling my legs up higher and tilting my hips to give him a better angle. He found me in the dark and slowly pressed in.

He was still for a moment as we adjusted to each other. Edward rested his forehead on the pillow above me and sighed after a moment.

"You feel nice."

I laughed, embarrassed, and started to move against him. He moved with me, slipping his hand back down between us and lightly stroking me.

I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing his chest as best I could. He laughed softly, breathlessly.

"I hope you won't mind," he panted.

"No," I grunted, sliding my hands down and grabbing his perfect butt and pulling him harder against me. "I'm close, too."

He increased his tempo and shortly after, we both finished, shuddering against each other as Edward pulled me close to his chest and rolled onto his side. I hooked my leg over his, enjoying the feeling of him still inside of me. We lay together, breathing heavily. Edward kissed my forehead.

"I'm a little hungry now."

I laughed and nodded. "Me too."

"Want me to go get something and bring it back?"

"From where?"

"The kitchen."

I grinned. "Sure."

"I'll be back in a moment then." He kissed me again, deeply, before carefully extracting himself from me. I lay there for a moment before rolling over and flipping on the bedside lamp.

I crawled out of the bed, wrapping a sheet around me and wandered into the rest of the house. Edward was standing, completely naked, in the kitchen, looking through the refrigerator for something to eat. I paused in the living room and grinned, definitely appreciating the view.

He'd worked out a lot for his current role and every muscle was well defined and definitely gorgeous. In Rose's words, he had an ass worthy of cannibalism.

He straightened up and sniffed a takeout container. "Chinese? Or should I grab the pizza?" he grinned at me.

"Either one." I walked over to him and slipped my arms around his waist, standing on my toes to kiss him. He set the container down and pulled me against him and kissed me back. "We should have done that ages ago," I grinned.

He laughed softly and rested his cheek on my head. "I'm just glad we did it now."

I nodded and closed my eyes contentedly. "Want to watch a movie or something?"

"Sure. Pick one out and we'll watch in your room."

I saluted him as he put the Chinese back in the fridge and pulled out the pizza. I wandered into the living room and pulled out _Army of Darkness_. It had been far too long since I'd enjoyed the awesomeness that was this movie. I pulled it off the shelf and stood up, hitching the sheets up as they slipped a little. I frowned, staring at the small black square object sitting on the top of the entertainment center. I'd never noticed it before. I picked it up and turned it over in my hands.

It was about a half inch square with a round raised part and a small glass dome in the middle of the circle.

"Shit. Edward, come here a sec."

I put my thumb over the glass and turned what I now knew was a wireless camera over in my hand, looking for a transmitter of some kind.

"What?" his eyes went to my hands and he frowned. "A camera."

I nodded. "Did you walk through here when you came out?"

He shook his head. "No, but there's no telling what the angle is on that, or what range it transmits to."

"Well, here's something simple enough." I handed him the DVD and moved through the house into the garage. I shivered when the cold winter air hit my basically bare skin. I grabbed a hammer off the wall and headed back inside. I put the camera on the floor, lens down, and smashed it with the hammer.

"I think that'll do it for now."

"Bella, you realize this was placed today by someone you let in."

"I do."

"And?"

I sighed. "I won't let anyone in anymore."

"What did they get?"

I was quiet. "I haven't been in the living room much since all the teams left, so at best, they got whatever I said to the other reporters. At worst, if the mic was really good, they picked up our conversation over dinner."

"And what did we discuss?"

I frowned, trying to remember. "Sex and interviews?"

He laughed. "Well, then their suspicions will be confirmed. I guess I'm not too terribly upset about that. I just hope they didn't get a picture of us."

I sighed. "I'm pretty sure they got one of me, but at least I'm wrapped up, right?"

He nodded and grimaced. "I'll sue whoever posts a picture of you in a sheet on the internet."

"Hey," I said softly, putting my hands on either side of his face. "I'll be fine. It won't be the worst picture of me out there."

He grinned then, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me back against him. "Let's just go to bed and forget today ever happened."

"Well, not all of it." I winked at him.

He beamed down at me. "No, definitely not all of it."

***

I yawned and stretched. Not working wasn't the worst thing in the world. I had caught up on my sleep, that was for sure. I'd also caught up on my TV and DVD watching, some reading and extra-curricular writing, I had cleaned the house to within an inch of its life and I was getting into the testing of some new recipes. And I'd only been on LOA for three weeks.

Edward was going to be done with filming in three days and I was dreading it. He had a publicity tour to get on for a movie he'd finished up over the summer that was releasing in a month. He'd asked me to join him on the tour and I was scared about the fact that we'd be harassed by press everywhere, not just here where we'd managed to strike a semi friendly medium with the local press.

Emmett had been alerted to the camera incident and he checked all the typical websites religiously but no pictures or audio clips of us had been leaked but he warned it could still happen in the future.

I wasn't terribly worried about it to be honest. I had been more covered by that sheet than I was by a bikini and nothing in our conversation had been that embarrassing. Edward was still angry about it so I tried to pretend it hadn't happened.

"Bella."

I looked up and grinned as Edward let himself in the front door. The snow had long since melted, but it was still cold and windy outside, making everyone's faces red and raw. Edward smiled at me as he pulled off his coat and hung it up.

"Emmett's in town, I'm sure he'll be here soon."

I laughed and lifted my face for a kiss. "He's come and gone already. They're staying at the hotel tonight so we've got the house to ourselves."

"Fantastic." He settled on the couch beside me and yawned. "I'm so glad we're done."

"You're done? I thought you had a few more days."

"We did, but we finished early. My plan is to stay in bed with you for the next three days and then take you with me to New York for the beginning of the press tour."

I grinned. "So you're not interested in being apart from me, huh."

"Not even a little bit."

"So New York is first."

"Yes."

"Then?"

"London, Paris, Munich, Athens, a few other places. I'm not really sure, to be honest. I just go where Emmett tells me to."

I laughed. "Does he go along?"

"Sometimes. I need help keeping everything straight. I was hoping if you came you might help do that for me."

"Of course." I leaned over and rested my head on his chest. "So do I get to tag along on every interview or do I have to stay behind in the hotel rooms?"

He laughed. "Whatever you want. You are there to keep me sane and happy and for me to love every night."

I grinned, a little tingle going through me at that thought. "Sounds wonderful. How many dresses should I try to get?"

"Don't worry about it," he said with a yawn, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Emmett has it all taken care of. Designers will meet us in each city with dress options for you and there will be hair and make-up people for you, too."

"Will it be the same people doing Jessica's hair and make-up?" I asked curiously, running my fingertips up and down his leg lightly.

"Most likely."

I made a face. "Is it too much to ask that I have my own?"

He laughed. "Not at all. Whatever you want, you shall have."

"Right now, I kind of want you."

"Your wish is my command."

I laughed as he stood up and threw me over his shoulder, carrying me off to my bedroom.

The next morning Edward slept in while I got up and started the packing process. I dragged my suitcase out from under the bed and emptied it of the summer clothes I stored in there. I had no idea what to take, so I started with the usual items. I pulled out a couple of fistfuls of underwear and tossed them in the suitcase, then grabbed jeans and sweaters and some lighter tops. I moved on to shoes and then toiletries. I pulled out a couple of my own nicer dresses and added them to the garment bag portion of the suitcase, in case at some point we could go to dinner on our own. Plus, maybe I'd just want to wear my own clothes one night. It might be shocking to some, but I'd be ok with that.

I sat back on my heels and stared at the suitcase thoughtfully. Traveling around the globe with Edward and the rest of the cast of the movie for a couple of weeks was definitely going to be interesting. From what I'd heard, Jessica was not thrilled that I was going to be there. Edward confessed that every time they got together to promote the series, she tried to start up their relationship again. I was curious what she would do with me around constantly. At least they only had a couple of appearances together outside of the red carpet appearances. Plus, there were the other stars of the movie to act as some kind of a buffer.

"Bella?" Edward sounded confused. I crawled across the floor on my knees and smiled at him as he leaned over the bed and looked at me.

"Yes?"

"Why aren't you in bed?"

"Because its nearly 10 in the morning and I've got three days to figure out how to pack for a three week trip all over the world. I thought I'd get a head start on the freaking out and hyperventilating."

He rolled his eyes and looked at my suitcase. "Take what you want and we'll buy whatever you forget."

"Ok, that helps with the packing. What about the hyperventilating and freaking out?"

"Well, I can't really stop you from doing that. I did plenty my first time to the circus. I passed out before my first interview from sheer nerves."

"Great, I feel tons better, thanks for that."

He grinned. "You're entirely welcome."

I grinned and crawled into bed with him, resting my head on his chest. "Can we do some sightseeing?"

"Maybe, but likely not. We generally move quite a lot on these tours. We may only be in a city for 18 hours or less."

"Then you'll just have to take me back someday."

"Gladly. I'll take you anywhere you want to go." He kissed my temple and squeezed me to his side. "Now, go to sleep. We're going to spend as much time in bed as we can before the circus."

"Sounds good." I shifted up slightly and kissed him before snuggling back down and closing my eyes. It took a little while, but gradually Edward's slow steady breathing lulled me to sleep, too.

***

Tali: Again, all written in about 24 hours….less, really, since I started at like, 10 this morning and its almost 9 pm. So, 12 hours. Kick ass! Again, not rereading it, so let me know the mistakes and I'll fix them. And again, apologies if it sucks. You all say that it doesn't and future chapters won't, but I'm gonna keep apologizing for the possibilities. ;-)

On that note, I may take a couple days off from posting so I can get the rest of this written up. Don't hate me!


	5. Chapter 5: Leaving On a Jet Plane

I stared out the window, slightly horrified and completely terrified.

"Is this normal?" I whispered.

Edward sighed. "Yeah, it is."

We were pulling up to the hotel in New York and there were literally thousands of screaming women crowded outside behind some barriers that had been set up. I felt sorry for the other guests at the hotel, but I really felt sorry for us. Edward reached over and squeezed my hand comfortingly. I swallowed down a small wave of panic as the car pulled to a stop, seemingly in the middle of the insanity.

"Isn't there a side entrance or something?" Edward leaned forward and asked the driver.

"I was told to drop you here."

Edward scowled as he sat back. "Emmett. I'm going to kill him."

I squeezed his hand again and looked out at the crowds. The screaming had reached a fever pitch since they'd all spotted the car and knew who was inside. We sat for a second, adjusting.

"So, here's the plan," he said finally. "Hold my hand, look at the door because the flashing will blind you, perhaps a smile and wave, but that's not necessary for you. We'll get in as quick as we can."

I nodded numbly. He pushed open the door and the screaming intensified. He flinched slightly, but climbed out and turned to help me.

I was instantly blinded by the flashing lights from the cameras and deafened by the screams. I could faintly make out our names as Edward pulled me forward. It wasn't far, but it felt like an eternity. Luckily, the barriers had been set up far enough back that the fans couldn't reach us, but I still crowded close to Edward's side, away from the reaching hands. The doormen opened the door for us and we hurried inside, breathing a small sigh of relief as we saw Emmett, gesturing us over towards a side hall.

Once we were safely in the elevator, I collapsed against the rail on the wall.

"What the hell?" shouted Edward. "I thought we discussed this."

"It's for the movie," retorted Emmett. "Plus, you know that the GreenLeaf prefers that you come in and out the front door so they can better control the crowds."

Edward scowled. "I fucking hate this. You know that."

"I also know that you have to go to the premiers because it's in every contract you sign."

Edward growled in frustration and ran his fingers through his hair. "And the talk shows?"

"Also in the contract. That's what the publicity section is over."

I pushed myself off the bar and slipped my arms around Edward's waist, resting my cheek on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and sighed, slowly calming down.

The elevator stopped and we walked out. The GreenLeaf was one of those old established hotels that I'd always dreamed about staying at but never had. I hadn't really been to New York before even, so coming and staying here was amazing. The halls were carpeted in thick plush blue carpet and the walls were papered in gold and ivory with gold wall sconces. We walked to the end of the hallway to a large set of double doors with gold fixtures. Emmett produced a key card and opened the door, holding it for us.

Our room was enormous, obviously a suite of some kind. We had entered in a living room that had hardwood floors and gorgeous furniture. There was a flat screen TV set up on one wall and beautiful artwork on the others. To the left was a dining room and actual kitchen. To the left were two doors, the bathroom and bedroom I assumed. Emmett crossed immediately to the kitchen and I could hear ice in glasses. Edward released my hand and pulled off his jacket. I moved towards the two doors and my suspicions were confirmed: one revealed a small half bath; the other an enormous bedroom with a king sized bed, another flat screen, and huge windows overlooking Central Park. There was a full bathroom in here with a giant glass shower, a huge Jacuzzi tub, a double vanity and a small separate room for the toilet. I locked myself in the room with the toilet to collect myself.

I never had any idea that things would be this…intense. I knew that fans followed Edward, that they waited outside his hotels and places where they knew he would be. I understood all that from what happened back home and from what I'd seen in a couple of magazines of Rose's, but I had no idea it was so much. Hundreds of screaming fans was one thing, thousands of people shutting down the street because Edward was coming, that was insanity.

"Bella?"

I jumped. Edward was on the other side of the door.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ok?" he sounded worried.

I pulled open the door and looked up at him. "Is it always like that?"

He leaned against the doorframe and sighed. "Yeah."

I shuddered. "How do they know my name here?"

"Babe, you made national headlines. Fuck, _inter_national headlines. Everyone knows who you are."

I wrapped my arms around myself and sighed. "So I probably won't be able to just go out on my own even?"

"You might," he said quietly, sliding down to sit on the floor. "But I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that."

I nodded and stood up, holding out my hands. He took them and I braced myself on the floor as I pulled him up. He grinned and pulled me close for a kiss.

"Having you around makes it some easier to bear, though. You keep me a little saner."

I chuckled. "Weirdo."

He kissed me again. "I came to see if you wanted a drink and to see your dresses."

"Dresses? As in more than one?"

He nodded. "You have options."

I followed him back into the living room. A woman was standing there now with a large rolling rack full of beautiful dresses in practically every color of the rainbow. My eye was immediately caught by one that reminded me of Audrey Hepburn's dress in _Sabrina_. It was strapless with a full tea-length skirt. The dress was white and there were black designs on the skirt. I reached over and touched it lightly, afraid I'd make it dirty just by touching it. The woman beamed.

"I thought you'd like that," she smiled at me, reaching forward and pulling it off the rack. "Emmett sent me your sizes, but of course we'll tailor it to fit you perfectly. Would you like to try it on?"

I nodded, amazed. Edward grinned and reached forward, grabbing a gorgeous blue dress and a beautiful red dress and handed them over. "Try these too, to make sure."

I nodded again, taking the three dresses and moving into our room. I quickly shimmied into the blue dress, saving the black and white for later. It was silky and hugged every curve, showing more curves than I was comfortable with. I made a face as I stepped into the living room.

The woman pursed her lips and shook her head. "I'm afraid you're not really built for that one, dear, but I can make it work if you want me to."

I shook my head. "No, I'm not built for it. I'd have to start exercising to make this work. It's the body in the dress, not the dress itself."

She chuckled softly and Edward grinned. "Next."

I nodded and headed back in, switching the blue for the red. It had small half-inch wide straps, a fitted bodice, and a pencil skirt with gold and silver designs sewn into the fabric. It was gorgeous, but I wasn't sure I was comfortable with the tightness of the skirt. I stepped into the living room and Edward grinned.

"I like it."

"It looks lovely on you," the woman grinned.

I shook my head. "Too short and tight for me. I'm sorry, I just feel kind of slutty in it. No offense."

The woman laughed. "None taken, dear. I see your point."

I headed back in and pulled on the black and white dress. It fit like a dream and I immediately fell in love. I stopped in front of the full length mirror and twirled a little, loving how my hair and the skirt fanned out around me, even kind of loving the way it looked with bare feet.

I stepped into the living room and everyone's faces lit up.

"We've got a winner," grinned Emmett.

Edward nodded his agreement. "You sure do know how to pick them, babe."

I curtsied and twirled a little, holding my arms up. "I love it. I'd like this one, please."

The woman stood up and crossed to me, producing a measuring tape from somewhere and measuring me in a few places, making notes on a small pad she had with her.

"You'll need shoes of course, but I'll send Beverly up with some. I think black would do."

"What about red?" I asked absentmindedly. "I think red would look interesting."

There was a silence and I flushed. "Or it could look horrible. Whatever. I've just always wanted red heels."

"Then you'll get red shoes. Send Beverly with red shoes." Edward was firm. I grinned at him as the woman made more notes.

"Have you got someone for hair and make-up?" she asked, looking at Emmett.

He nodded. "Same people who'll do Jessica's will do hers."

I made a face. "Really? Jessica Stanley's people are now my people?"

Edward grinned. "They're good people, Bella."

"Can't I do it myself?"

The woman looked shocked. "Do your own hair and make-up?"

I shifted nervously. "Maybe?"

"For the premier?" she clarified.

I nodded.

"Unheard of."

"Oh."

"If she wants to do it herself, let her," shrugged Emmett. "She looks fine most of the time."

I shot him a look and Edward laughed. "I agree, but Bella, a premier is different from a regular date. There's more lights, there's the photographers…you might appreciate having a professional doing your hair and make-up."

I sighed. "Fine, but not Jessica's people. I'll go to the mall and get it done there first."

The woman pursed her lips. "That woman is out to make my life hell, I swear," she muttered, moving into the bedroom and hanging the discarded dresses back up and putting them back on the rack. I quickly switched from the black and white dress into my jeans and sweater and passed it back to her.

"I'll have it and some shoes here for you tomorrow morning," she promised. "And hair and make-up people here by 4."

I nodded and smiled uncertainly. "Thanks."

She winked at me. "I like your honesty and the fact that you're at least some modest. It's refreshing. I hope to see you again, Bella."

I smiled for real and nodded. "Likewise."

She snapped her fingers and the door opened and a man appeared, grabbing the rack of dresses and pushing it out of the room behind her. Emmett set his empty glass on the table and stood up, checking his watch.

"Don't forget you've got an appearance at 4," he said to Edward as he pulled his coat back on.

Edward nodded absentmindedly.

"Do I need to have someone retrieve you?" asked Emmett with annoyance.

"I'll remember," muttered Edward.

Emmett looked at me with frustration and I grinned.

"I'll remember," I promised. "Leave me a note of where we're going and I'll make sure we get there."

He nodded, looking relieved. He jotted something down quickly and looked at Edward again who was now staring out the window at the skyline. Emmett sighed and shook his head, leaving the note on the table.

The door clicked shut softly behind him and Edward's shoulders slumped. I crossed the room and slipped my arms around him again. He sighed and held on to me.

"I hate that I'm not what people think I am."

"And what's that?"

"Strong, outgoing, happy."

"You're unhappy?"

"With this life, yeah. It's overwhelming. A year ago, I was nobody. Now I can't step out the door without people screaming at me. I'd like to go back to what it was."

I was quiet. "Think of me for a second," I said softly. "A month ago I was nobody and because my fucking roommate dragged me to the grocery store, now I get screamed at. I lost my job."

He nodded and looked down at me thoughtfully. "Want to run away?"

I laughed and headed towards the kitchen to get something to drink. "Sure. Private island in the Caribbean, right?"

"Sounds perfect."

***

I sat nervously on the couch, watching as the woman put a last dusting of make-up on Edward's face. He was staring unseeingly at the mirror as she worked, Emmett talking quickly in his ear. Probably reminding him what he was supposed to say, what the movie clip was, everything. There was a knock on the door and we all jumped a little. It opened and a man with a headset stuck his head in.

"Five minutes, Mr. Cullen."

Edward nodded and closed his eyes. I watched with fascination as his face relaxed and he visibly transformed into someone different. He opened his eyes and looked relaxed and at ease. This was the Edward I was used to. He grinned at the make-up lady and then at Emmett. It was almost like a split personality. Frankly, it scared me a little.

He stood up and reached for me. "Walk me to the stage?"

I grinned. "Sure." The host had come back stage earlier and had met us, asking if I'd be interested in coming on stage at some point. The idea terrified me so I'd said no. I had a feeling I would be asked to join Edward on stage anyway.

We walked down a dark hallway and I could hear the music from the stage and the host introducing Edward. A moment later, the curtains pulled back, Edward gave me a quick kiss, and he was gone. I hung back in the shadows, watching as Edward and the host made small talk about the movie.

"So you were recently in Texas," the host grinned, his teeth huge and white in the stage lights.

"Yes, it was great. Cold, but great."

"I hear you met someone there?"

There were some mixed sounds from the audience, some awe's, some boo's, some cheers. It was weird being booed.

"I did, yeah. She's great."

"So can you tell us about her?"

I felt my heart rate pick up. We'd already agreed he could talk about me, telling the facts that were already public, but I still felt strange being discussed on national television by a celebrity.

"She's fantastic at what she does; she's perfect for me in that she likes to be at home, relaxed, eating leftovers and watching movies."

"So what is it that she does?"

"She's a puppet master."

There was laughter at that and Edward grinned, sitting back in his seat as he took a sip of water from the coffee mug with the show's logo.

"A puppet master?"

"Oh yeah. She puts on puppet shows for her library. Writes them, builds the sets, designs the puppets, all of it. She's brilliant at accents. Her British accent is better than mine."

More laughter. I relaxed some. At least they weren't still booing me.

"So does she help you with your accents then?"

"She tries," he laughed, crossing one leg over his knee and grasping his ankle. "I'm absolute crap at the Texas drawl, but hers is brilliant."

"Well, I'd hope so. She's from Texas after all."

"But she doesn't have a drawl normally, that's the thing. She has a lovely speaking voice; she's just absolutely brilliant at accents. She could do voice work."

"Has she tried for that?"

"No, but I'm not sure she'd want to. She's intimidated by all this, the public life I lead."

"I think most people would be. We'll be back in just a minute with Edward Cullen!" The host shouted at the cameras. There were screams and cheers from the audience and the host leaned over and started talking to Edward earnestly. Edward looked over his shoulder in my direction and I shrank back into the shadows. I knew what this was about.

Edward stood up and crossed the stage, walking straight to me.

"Will you come on stage with me?" he asked softly.

My heart was pounding and I looked out at the audience. "Seriously? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

He smiled and tucked some hair behind my ear. "No, I just think you'd be a hit. You can stay here if you want."

I bit my lip uncertainly. "It'll make it worse."

"It might."

I sighed and pressed my face against his chest. "Fine."

He grinned. "You'll be great. They're going to love you."

I grinned back at him. "So let's go out there."

A few moments later I was sitting on the couch next to Edward and the make-up lady was messing with my face and another woman was messing with my hair.

"I wish we'd known sooner," clucked the hair lady. "I'd have gotten something decent for you to wear."

I frowned. "I actually like what I'm wearing, thanks."

"It's not bad for walking around the city, but for being on TV?" she shook her head in dismay.

"Well, I didn't know until five seconds ago," I said dryly.

She didn't say anything more and the women rushed off the stage as the music swelled and we came back from a fake commercial break. The host turned to the camera and started talking. Edward leaned over.

"The red light is the on camera."

I nodded my thanks as the host turned to us.

"Bella, thanks for joining us. Edward was bragging about you before the break."

I grinned and elbowed Edward slightly. "Yeah, I heard. He seems incredibly fascinated by my Texas drawl which I find completely ridiculous."

"Well, can you give us an example of it?"

Edward was grinning like crazy, sitting back in his chair and holding my hand. He seemed to be enjoying the fact that the focus was off him some.

"Of my Texas drawl?" I asked with surprise.

He nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great. I mean, you don't really have an accent right now."

I chuckled. "Thanks, I suppose." I cleared my throat and said in the drawl "Texans are the greatest people you'll ever meet."

There was applause for that and I flushed, embarrassed. Edward squeezed my hand with a huge grin. Edward's segment of the show was supposed to be about 10 minutes tops but I ended up demonstrating accents and talking about the absurdities of life with Edward for a good 15 minutes on my own. Then they had to talk to Edward again about the movie and show the clip. Finally, it was over and we were done. Edward and I headed back to the hotel, pushing through the crowds of people to get there.

I sighed with relief when the doors finally closed behind us, sealing us in the silent opulence that was our hotel room. Edward stood quietly and then shook himself, returning to the melancholy he'd had ever since we stepped foot off the plane.

"Ready for bed?"

"What happened?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"What do you mean?"

"You. You're different here than you were in Texas. Hell, you're different with me than you are with the people interviewing you."

"In a life like mine, you have a public persona."

"I plan on being myself at all times."

"You'll change that."

"No, I won't. I'm ashamed of you for changing. I thought you were better than that."

"Maybe you think I'm better than I am," he snapped, his eyes flashing. "Shit, Bella, you've only seen me in good circumstances. This is the real world here and it's crazy and hectic and terrifying at times. If I let on how much it gets to me…" he stopped and shook his head, running his fingers through his hair agitatedly. "I just can't let on, that's all. I have to put up a mask and be who they think I am."

"Who do they think you are?" I sat on the edge of the bed and toed off my shoes, looking up at him curiously.

"We talked about this earlier."

"Tell me again."

He looked angry but he kept talking. "I'm supposed to be easy-going, friendly, interesting."

"You are all those things," I said gently. "You're also incredibly shy and introverted which is why it all intimidates you."

"You think I'm shy and introverted?" he looked surprised.

I laughed. "Yes. I'm more observant than you think, I suppose. You're a great big stick in the mud and I love that about you because I'm one, too."

He finally cracked a smile and sat beside me, staring out the window at the fat snowflakes that were now falling. "So what should I do?"

I rested my head on his shoulder. "Stop being a Jekyll and Hyde. Or, I suppose an Edward and Anthony. Just be Edward."

"And who is that? I feel like I don't know anymore."

I laced my fingers in his and thought for a moment. "Edward is sweet and funny and quick with the comeback. He's reserved at times, but that's to be expected since he's British. It's alright to not always be 'on' for the cameras, you know. You can have off days."

He sighed and turned on the bed, pulling me into his lap and kissing me. "Alright. I'll try, for you."

"No, Edward, try for you. I'm not important here. If I end up leaving for whatever reason, you've still got to be you. You're going to be Edward Cullen for the rest of your life. I could just be a season of your life."

"A season?"

I smiled. "People come in and out of our lives in three ways: for a reason, for a season, or forever. Who's to say I'm forever?"

He rested his forehead against mine. "I could say that easily."

I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him lightly, chuckling softly. "You are not allowed to propose or profess you love me after only knowing me a month. Make it a little longer."

He rolled his eyes but nodded. "Another ridiculous rule but alright." He pulled me closer still and kissed me deeply. "Am I allowed to say I'm quite fond of you?"

"You are."

***

I took a deep breath as the limo slowly made its way forward. Edward grinned at me. "Are you ready?"

I rolled my eyes. "No." I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid a little closer to him as his side was the one we would get out on.

"Why do you always buckle your seatbelt?" he asked curiously. "We're in a limo."

"Do you remember how Princess Diana died? No thank you. Plus, in Texas, if you don't wear a seatbelt in the front seat, you get a ticket."

"Again, we're in the back seat of a limo and not in Texas."

"Safety first, Edward."

He chuckled and nodded. "Alright, I'll start wearing my seatbelt. Happy?"

"Deliriously."

The limo stopped and the door opened. Edward stepped out and stood for a moment, letting the photographers get some pictures. He then turned and helped me out. Again, I was instantly blinded and deafened. I was starting to really hate this.

Because of who Edward was, I stayed a little ways away from him on the red carpet so the photographers could get shots of him alone. He finally rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him and kissing my temple.

"You're with me, fuck all of them."

I smiled and stayed close to him after that. We stopped in a couple of places and posed for pictures. Edward kept his arm around my waist securely the entire time, only stopping when we were shown to our seats. Then his arm was around my shoulders. I watched the movie absentmindedly as people repeatedly came up to talk to Edward about random things, most of it stuff I was clueless about. Finally it was over and we were allowed to go. Emmett found us, Rose on his arm looking fabulous.

"Bella," she grinned, pulling me into a hug.

"Oh thank God for a familiar face," I sighed. "I've been freaking out here."

"Me too, but isn't this awesome? So many celebrities! I just met George Clooney. He's hotter in person."

I stared at her. "Your experience is vastly different from mine then. I've only met directors and agents and casting people, most of whom I've never heard of."

She laughed and looked around, her eyes sparkling. "Well, it helps that my date is a behind the scenes person."

I rolled my eyes and nodded. "No shit."

"So are you going to the after party?"

I blanched. "There's more?"

"Oh yeah," Emmett grinned, finally turning his attention to us. "There are parties until dawn really."

"Edward!"

We all turned at the screech and Rose's mouth dropped. Jessica Stanley was teetering towards us on sky high heels and wearing the red dress I'd deemed too slutty. She was oozing out of the top and her legs looked miles long with the heels and the skirt that seemed a lot shorter on her than it had on me. Her hair and make-up were flawless and gorgeous though, I had to admit.

She threw her arms around Edward's neck and kissed him full on the mouth. "I haven't seen you in ages, baby," she grinned as she leaned back from him.

"That's because we're not working together currently," he said smoothly, prying her off of him and pushing her away. "I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Bella."

She turned and stared at me. "So that's for real? Not just some publicity stunt?"

"No. You were the publicity stunt."

She didn't seem to care about that comment. She looked over at Rose. "And you are?"

"I'm Bella's roommate and Emmett's date," she said smoothly. "Who are you?"

Jessica's mouth opened and closed like a fish for a moment before she scowled and crossed her arms over her ample chest. "I'm Jessica Stanley. Obviously you've been living in a cave somewhere to not know that."

"Maybe she just has some taste," I said with a small shrug. "Not everyone is a fan of tripe."

Jessica looked at me confused. "Tripe?"

"Yes," I said easily. "It's a delicacy only enjoyed by a portion of the population."

Jessica studied me for a long moment, clearly not sure if she was being complimented or insulted. I gave her a sweet smile and leaned back against Edward's chest lightly. He automatically wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my head.

"So I'm a delicacy?" she asked slowly.

"Oh yes, a fine delicacy. You're offal, really."

"I'm not awful," she said indignantly.

"No, not awful," grinned Edward behind me. "Offal. It's something that not everyone enjoys but those who do adore."

"Oh. So I'm adored." She seemed to like that. She studied me for a long moment, clearly sizing me up. I sized her up as well.

She was taller in person than I'd realized, but then again, she was wearing 4-inch heels and her hair was teased high. Flat footed and with normal hair, she was probably a few inches taller than me but she was an absolute stick. I had some meat on me. I could definitely take her. Plus, I'd have Rose on my side, helping me kick her ass if it came down to it. Jessica seemed to come to the same assessment, her eyes flicking towards Rose. Rose was closer to her height but being a civilian, Rose also had some meat on her. Wicked curves, she called them. Rose was not one to fuck with. I hid a smile, imagining Jessica Stanley sizing up little Alice who looked like the most harmless girl you'd ever met but who was the meanest bitch in a fight if called for.

"I'll see you around, Edward." She looked down at me, her lip curling imperceptibly. "Bella."

I smiled. "Oh, you definitely will. I'm going on the whole tour. We'll be BFF's by the end of it I'm sure."

She looked like she wanted to throw up. I had a feeling she did on a semi-regular basis and actually felt kind of bad for her about that. She made so much money and yet had to maintain such a ridiculous weight. It was sad, really.

She turned then and teetered off on her heels, searching for someone new to annoy and pester.

I turned to Rose when she was out of earshot. "I think we did ok."

Rose was grinning. "I've always wanted to say that to someone famous."

Emmett pulled her close and kissed her hair. "Good job. I'm incredibly impressed with you two. No one ever talks to her like that. It's good for her to be taken down a peg or two." He looked over at me and grinned. "I can't believe you got her to believe being called offal and tripe was a compliment."

I laughed and shook my head. "I guess being a librarian and knowing certain words is more of an advantage than I realized."

Edward kissed my shoulder then. "Come on, let's go to the party now. We can sneak out early and go to the hotel to celebrate the verbal ass kicking you just gave her."

I laughed and nodded.

"Not too much celebrating, though," said Emmett sternly as the four of us headed to the waiting limo. "You have a flight to catch at 6:00 AM to London."

Edward groaned and I laughed. "Look at it this way," I teased. "You'll get to introduce me to your mum and I'll finally get a stamp in my passport."

The party was crowded and insane. We were crammed into a large dark room with pounding music and tons of food and alcohol everywhere. People were mingling and again, there were lots of conversations that meant nothing to me. I felt incredibly out of place and desperately wished I were home in Texas in my own room in my own bed. I clung on to Rose's arm for a moment before she gave me a quick hug and disappeared into the mass of people with Emmett. I later saw them dancing in the middle of the crowd, each with a glass of something in hand.

Jessica was making the rounds, too, grinding up on any hot guy who stood still long enough for her to get close enough to him. Most seemed welcoming of the attention, but I noticed that she cast frequent glances towards Edward. I grinned to myself at her horribly obvious attempts to make Edward jealous. He was completely oblivious to her annoyance.

Edward and I claimed a small table in a back corner and sat people-watching for a while, occasionally leaning to shout something at each other. Once in a while, Edward would kiss my neck or shoulder or hand, grinning at me. He was working so hard on being Edward and he was doing surprisingly well.

A young man who looked vaguely familiar came up to the table and asked if he could join us. Edward looked up at him with a grin and nodded, gesturing to the seat across the table. The young man sat and smiled at us, then struck up a conversation with Edward about something I couldn't really hear that well.

I sat as they talked and people-watched on my own. After a while, I squeezed Edward's arm to let him know I was leaving and set off for the bathroom. I had to wait in line for a long time before finally getting a stall. I was instantly glad I'd picked a dress with a full skirt as opposed to a skin tight one. I sighed with relief and just sat for a bit, enjoying the small amount of peace and quiet I had.

"So have you seen her?"

"Yes. She's kind of pretty. Prettier than I expected anyway."

"Are you kidding?" snorted the first woman. "She's fucking Edward Cullen. He doesn't screw ugly chicks."

I was horrified. Obviously they had no idea I was in here. I couldn't leave now or they'd know I'd overheard them.

"That's true. He usually has really high standards."

"Well, he did date Stanley for a while."

"Please, that was about two seconds during their first movie. He's been over that for ages."

"See, I heard that he's not over her and that maybe he's just using this new girl to try to win her back."

I rolled my eyes at that. That was beyond ridiculous. Right?

"They do have amazing chemistry," admitted the second woman. "But if he was just trying to get Stanley back, wouldn't he date someone…hotter?"

"You'd think."

I bit my lip to keep from saying something.

"Well, you know Edward. He bounces from woman to woman like a five year old on a sugar high. He's got ADHD when it comes to relationships. I think his longest one was what, three months with Sadie Brown?"

"Yeah, this is true. She'll be gone in a couple of months, max."

"And then we're waiting in the wings."

They laughed as they click clacked out of the room. I sat and stared at the stall door, stunned. I waited a couple of minutes before exiting and washing my hands. I then quickly made my way to the table where Edward was still sitting talking to the guy I couldn't place. I sat beside him uneasily, glancing around the room at all the women now, wondering who he'd slept with and who was waiting for him to get tired of me and move on. More than a few were looking over at him with barely veiled lust in their eyes. Even some of the men were looking at him like that. That was disconcerting.

I yawned and looked around for a clock but didn't see one. I picked up my clutch and pulled out my purse, checking my phone. It was close to 2 am. I leaned over and shouted in Edward's ear.

"It's late, I think I'm going to go."

He glanced at his watch and his eyes widened. He nodded and leaned forward, shouting to the young man that we were leaving. The young man smiled and nodded, standing up and offering me his hand. I took it and he leaned forward.

"It was nice to meet you. I'm sorry I took up so much of Edward's time tonight."

I smiled and shook my head. "Its fine, I'm starting to learn this is his life."

The young man nodded again, squeezed my hand, then clapped Edward on the shoulder and disappeared into the crowd. Edward reached over and took my hand and we carefully made our way towards the front door. People stopped us, talking to Edward fervently. He brushed them off and kept walking, pulling me with him. I grinned, secretly pleased that I alone was the person Edward Cullen was interested in being with tonight.

"Who was that?" I asked curiously when we were finally settled in the limo and moving through the dark streets towards the hotel.

"You didn't recognize him?" he asked with surprise.

I frowned. "If I did, would I ask?"

He grinned. "I suppose not. That was James Addison. He's an actor, too."

"I've heard the name and I recognize the face." I looked out the window, trying to place him. "Was he in that movie about the three friends who get marooned in Alaska or something?"

"Yeah, that was him. He's dating his co-star from that, by the way."

"Victoria Strong?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Laurent Dupree."

I stared at him. "He's gay?"

Edward laughed again and nodded.

"Well kiss my grits. He plays straight very well."

"I think he's actually bi-sexual. Kiss your what?"

I waved my hand dismissively. "Southernism."

He chuckled softly and pulled me against him, kissing my neck. "Remember what you said about the limo?"

I pushed against him lightly. "I do but not here and not now."

"Why not?"

"Because we're at the hotel."

He looked out the window as we pulled to a stop. "So we are. Maybe while we're abroad then."

I grinned. "Maybe."

***

The next weeks flew by in a complete blur. To my supreme disappointment, the only things we saw were whatever we drove past on the way from the airport to the hotel and then to the premiers or the interviews and then back to the airport. I grabbed a box of postcards of famous sites in Paris at the airport and sent one of the Eiffel Tower to Mom. I'd seen it as we'd driven around, but we hadn't actually gotten to climb it. I'd been disappointed not to go to the Louvre, too. Edward promised to bring me back someday and spend as long as we wanted seeing everything I wanted. That appeased me some, but not much.

Everywhere we went, we were met by large crowds holding signs proclaiming their love for Edward, asking for him to marry them or at least just father their children. He paused once in a while and signed autographs and shook hands, posing for pictures. I grinned and stood to the side, even taking a few photos myself. I had my camera with me constantly and started taking pictures of the fans with Edward for ourselves.

In every city, true to his word, designers met us in our hotel rooms with racks of clothing for both of us to choose from. Edward's clothing all looked very similar to me, but I was assured they were all different and unique. I wore so many beautiful dresses that they started to blur together and I began to forget what the individual ones looked like. I knew that they were all similar in style, nothing terribly slinky or clingy, but other than that, individual patterns and colors were starting to escape me. Luckily, the press didn't let me. Emmett kept us stocked with magazines with our pictures in them from around the world. Edward typically threw them away but I started to pull out the pictures, filling manila envelopes with them and sending them to Mom.

Jessica was a snot. There was no other word for it. She somehow managed to arrive at every event at the same time that we did and even managed to push into photos with us a time or two. Edward was beyond angry when he saw the first magazine that cropped me out and published another picture of the two of them with the headline "Back Together?" From then on, he refused to even speak to Jessica. Emmett had to fly out for damage control on that one.

"Look, it's just a picture," he said as Edward paced angrily in our Athens hotel room. It was trashed and I was trying unsuccessfully to clean it up a bit. He really was a slob. "You and I and the people who matter know the truth."

"I don't care," Edward growled. "I don't want her anywhere near me."

"That's going to be difficult seeing as how you have to promote film one more movie and promote two more."

He shot me an angry glare and I shrugged, turning away to keep packing.

"Emmett, fix this."

"I can't fix it, there's nothing to fix."

Edward tugged on his hair almost comically and I laughed and slipped my arms around his waist. "Seriously, get the hell over this. I'm not upset. I'm the one in your bed at night, I'm the one you kiss, I'm the one you want, right?"

"Right."

"So get over it. We'll just avoid her, stand at opposite ends of the room, laugh at the tabloids. It's all we can do, Edward."

He sighed and nodded. "Fine. But if she comes near me…"

"I'll take her down with my razor sharp wit and snarkiness. You've got me on your team. I'm always going to be Team Edward. I should get a t-shirt or something. You think they make Team Edward Shirts somewhere?"

He laughed then. "I suppose, but wouldn't there have to be an opposing team?"

"Team Jessica?" offered Emmett.

I snickered. "Team Offal."

Edward grinned down at me then. "What would I do without you?"

"You'd be sad and lonely and constantly harassed by a bitch on heels."

"Too true."

I was so relieved when we left Europe and headed to South America. It was much warmer there. I could wear skirts and short sleeved shirts when we went to the interviews. Since I spoke Spanish, I was brought on stage more than once to be Edward's translator. Only place I wasn't terribly useful was Brazil. I could figure out a few words, but mostly we relied on their translators. We hit several cities there before flying west to Australia.

We were met at the Sydney airport by a town car instead of a limo here and Edward and I slid into the back seat, exhausted. I wasn't entirely sure what day it was, to be honest. I buckled in and leaned over, resting my head on Edward's shoulder.

"How many more stops after this?"

"I think just Los Angeles. Thank God for small favors."

I nodded and closed my eyes. "I've never been to Los Angeles."

"Have you ever wanted to go?"

"No."

He laughed softly and rested his head on top of mine. The car slowed and I opened my eyes to see where we were. I could see the Sydney Opera House from where we were. It was beautiful, lit up in the afternoon sun. I nudged Edward to show him, excited. He was asleep. I grinned and sat up, pulling him into my lap to sleep. He was in an awkward position but considering our body clocks were entirely screwed up, I didn't much care about that.

There were swarms of people around us like usual. I was surprisingly used to this by now. The photographers on rollerblades trying to keep pace with the car, the vans following behind with the video cameras hanging out the windows. I took it all in stride now. Our driver, however, did not seem to be taking it in stride at all.

He started to pick up speed, weaving some in the traffic.

"Its fine," I called. "They'll follow us wherever we go. We're used to it."

He ignored me and started moving faster, making dangerous moves that sent my heart into my throat. My exhaustion was immediately overshadowed by my fear. I nervously checked both my and Edward's seatbelts and tightened my grip on Edward's shoulders. It wouldn't do much good but it was an automatic response.

"Please slow down," I pleaded. Again, he ignored me.

I saw it coming. I could feel it in my gut, but more than that, I literally saw it coming. A white car pulled out into traffic and our driver swerved to miss it. He sideswiped another car, bouncing across the lanes of traffic and hitting something else, spinning the car around. I held tightly to Edward as the centrifugal pulled us away from each other. The car hit something and the combination of the speed and the force of the hit sent the car into a roll. I heard glass shatter and felt it prickling against my skin and falling heavy in my hair. I closed my eyes and clung to Edward as best I could, my heart pounding in my chest. I could hear screaming and knew it was me, but I couldn't stop. The car was upside down and sliding now, moving fast. I panicked. I was terrified we were on a bridge and about to pitch over the side and into water. I had no idea where we were when it all started so I wasn't sure if it was a valid concern. My side of the car hit something, stopping the car's movement suddenly, and I was forced towards Edward's side of the car. I was scared to open my eyes just yet but I did manage to stop screaming.

Everything stopped and there was silence except for the rushing of blood in my ears and my heavy breathing. My ears were ringing with it and I felt something wet and sticky dripping down my face. The edges of my vision were starting to black and become tunneled.

Slowly sounds began to come to me and I could hear shouting and a distant wail of sirens. My body screamed in agony and I couldn't move. Edward was hanging beside me and he wasn't moving either. We were both trapped in the car, hanging upside down in what I could only imagine was a mangled wreck.

I reached towards him, groaning in agony. "Edward," I said desperately. "Edward wake up."

He didn't move. "Edward," I sobbed weakly. "Please wake up." I grasped at his arm, his face, his hair, anything, pulling, pinching, twisting.

He still wasn't moving when everything went black.

***

Tali: So, I've discovered that writing while listening to the _Jaws_ theme song makes everything way more intense. Try it sometime. ;-)


	6. Chapter 6: Fast Forward

Everything was quiet. Complete silence surrounded me and it was…nice. Relaxing. Calming. I was surrounded by white. I couldn't tell if I was in a room or what, but all around me was white light. I looked down at myself hesitantly, afraid to see my body torn and broken but instead, I was whole and wearing something flowy and white. My hair was loose and my body didn't hurt.

"Shit, I'm dead."

My voice rang out with a muffled echo. I started to walk, looking for Edward, hoping against hope I wouldn't find him here.

"Bella."

I wanted to cry when I heard his voice. I turned and saw him. He was wearing white, too, his hair perfect and his face smooth and worry free. He was holding out a hand for me.

"Bella," he repeated.

I took his hand and wrapped it around my waist, slipping my arms around his neck and kissing him. "I wish you weren't here."

"Bella." His voice was soft like a caress. He was stroking my hair now and I closed my eyes, loving the feeling of it. I pressed my face against his chest and breathed in his scent. It was different now that we were dead. It was slightly more…clinical? What the hell? I pulled back and looked up at him.

"Edward?"

"Bella."

"Edward, why aren't you saying anything?"

He simply smiled at me and kept stroking my hair.

"Is just one of us dead?"

No change. I felt a sob building up in my throat.

"Please, tell me it's just me. I don't want to be without you."

"Bella."

I hit his chest with a fist. "Dammit Edward, say something else. Anything."

"Bella, wake up."

I pulled back from him, horrified. "No. I won't be the one left. I won't let you leave me. Not after all the shit you put me through. I deserve better."

"Wake up, Bella."

"No."

His voice took on a more pained tone. "Please, Bella, wake up."

I pressed my forehead against his. "Please don't make me leave you." There were tears running down my face now. He cupped my cheeks in his hands and I kissed him desperately.

"Bella, wake up."

I felt something pulling on me, calling to me. I could hear sounds faintly at a distance. I looked up at Edward and knew I had to go. I was alive, somewhere. I had a family and friends and a job…well, sort of a job. If I died here, it would be like letting the press win and I refused to do that. I kissed him one more time then closed my eyes and woke up.

The first thing I noticed was excruciating pain. My whole body was on fire and numb at the same time. My nails hurt. My teeth hurt. My bones hurt. Hell, my hair hurt.

The second thing I notices was the bright lights. They were blinding me but they were constant so it wasn't photographers.

Then I noticed the sounds all around me. There were people talking frantically, shouting occasionally. There were machines beeping and hissing and dripping. I could feel that something was in my mouth and down my throat.

I noticed the smell. The most prevalent was blood. My blood. Probably some of Edward's too. A few tears leaked out of my eyes as I thought of him, left behind in the white. The coppery tang turned my stomach and I felt vomit coming up in my throat. I panicked as I realized there was no way to actually vomit with a tube down my throat. I could smell the astringent smell of hospitals and focused on that smell instead of the blood. Slowly the nausea went away, though now my head was throbbing. It had likely been throbbing before but now I was noticing it.

"She's awake," said a voice suddenly. A face appeared in my line of sight. "Do you know who you are?"

I nodded carefully, pain shooting through my neck.

"Can you breathe through your nose?"

I nodded again.

"Alright, I'm going to pull the tube out, ok? I need you to take a deep breath and then we'll do one long exhale while I pull it out. It's going to hurt."

I rolled my eyes and regretted that. My eyeballs hurt.

"On three."

I exhaled as he pulled the tube out and my throat felt like it was on fire.

"What's your name?" he asked after a moment.

"Bella Swan," I rasped.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Specifically no, but last I remember was Sydney Australia."

He smiled at me. "That's good enough. What day is it?"

I closed my eyes. "Even without the accident I don't know. Monday?"

He chuckled softly. "Can you feel your legs, Bella?"

I shook my head. "No."

He nodded. "Alright. Let me know, ok? I'm Ben."

I nodded and turned my head slightly. I could see through some windows into a room next to me. There was a body in there with a sheet pulled up over it. Edward. I fought a sob as I looked at it. I just wanted to touch him one more time, to feel him against me.

Slowly the frenetic energy in the room calmed and then Ben was back in my line of sight. "Bella, we're going to take you to surgery now. You've got some internal bleeding we need to take care of but you should be ok."

I nodded and blinked back tears. "Edward."

He looked confused. "Edward?"

"Edward Cullen. He was in the car with me."

"I'll see what I can find out."

I nodded and then closed my eyes. I was so, so tired. I felt the bed moving through halls and turning corners. I could see the lights flashing past my closed eyes and I could hear the voices and sounds of the hospital around me.

"Bella?"

Great, now I was hearing voices. This was probably not a good thing.

"Oh God, is she dead? Tell me she's not dead."

"Sir, I'm afraid you'll have to go. She's going into surgery."

"But she's not dead."

I opened my eyes and stared up at Edward. He was standing. How was he standing if he was dead? He was looking at a nurse or someone just out of my line of vision. His hair was mussed and there was dried blood on his shirt and neck. I could see a white bandage on his head.

"Edward?" I whispered.

He turned and his eyes locked onto mine. "Bella," he breathed, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. "Oh, thank God. I've been frantic. They wouldn't tell me anything about you because I'm not family."

"You're alive," I sobbed.

"Yeah, so are you," he kissed my fingers lightly. "Stay that way, ok?"

I nodded and he kissed my hand again, letting go and stepping back as they wheeled me away. I closed my eyes and breathed a small yet painful sigh of relief. Edward wasn't dead. I now had a reason to fight.

***

When I woke up the second time, I was in a darker room. There was still light, but it was coming in from a window instead of a bulb shining directly in my face. I could hear machines beeping and I could feel that there were needles sticking in me.

I licked my parched lips and grimaced. Crap, even my tongue hurt.

"Edward," I rasped, speaking his name into the ether in the hope that he would appear.

"I'm here." I turned my head slightly, wincing, and saw him pushing himself out of a chair. "I'm right here, Bella."

I smiled and reached for him. He carefully took my hand, gently sitting on the bed next to me.

"Are you ok?" I asked anxiously.

He laughed softly. "I'm fine. I was asleep so I didn't try to brace myself. I was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head before I woke up. I've got a concussion but I'll be fine. Are you alright?"

I laced my fingers in his. "If you're fine, I'm fine."

He was quiet, studying my face. "I was so scared I'd lost you, that my life had killed you."

"I was afraid I'd lost you. I saw a body…"

He nodded, tired. "The driver."

"Was anyone else hurt?"

"Miraculously, no. It was just us. He did manage to hit about four other cars, but only damaged them, didn't hurt anyone." He ran his thumb over the back of my hand gently. It was probably the only part of me that didn't hurt.

"Bella, I'm not sure how to say this so I'm just going to say it. I can't take you with me to LA."

"Why not?"

"Because my lifestyle isn't good for you. I almost killed you. You deserve to be with someone who won't put you in danger like I do."

I stared at him in horror. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

His eyes snapped to mine, surprised. Apparently he didn't expect such a violent reaction from me in my present condition.

"You come into my life acting all sweet and wonderful and make me fall in love with you and then you want to dump me? After nearly getting me killed? You're afraid."

He sighed. "It's not that cut and dried, Bella."

"No, fuck you, it is that cut and dried. You're dumping me because you're afraid. Let me worry about me. I'm pretty good at it. My mother taught me well."

He was quiet, his thumb still rubbing my hand.

"You may be ready to be rid of me but I am not giving up without a fight, dammit."

"Bella, please. Don't make this difficult."

"I'm not being the difficult one, you are. You're being an ass. And yes, I still think your ass is wonderful. I'm talking about the stubborn four legged animal that gets smacked around for not working."

The corners of his lips twitched. "Why would you want to continue with me in a life like this?"

"I told you. You made me love you."

"I didn't make you do anything."

"Oh, no, you were just wonderful and everything I secretly wanted in a guy." I withdrew my hand and clumsily pushed myself up a little so I was in a slightly more upright position. Edward simply picked up a remote of some kind and pushed a button, raising my bed.

"See, without you, I would be flat on my back staring at the ceiling."

"Without me, you'd be home in Texas in one piece."

"Without you, I'd be sitting alone in my room every night typing up puppet shows and lame romance novels with clumsily written sex."

He raised an eyebrow. "How come you never showed those to me?"

"I wanted to make sure we were serious first."

"And?"

"Well, since you're trying to break up with me, obviously we weren't."

"My feelings are pretty serious."

"Pretty seriously fucked up if they're telling you to leave me."

He sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. His face was paler than normal but I saw that he'd changed his clothes and was wearing a pair of scrubs. He looked good in scrubs. I wondered absentmindedly if he'd ever considered the medical field for a profession rather than acting.

"I love you Bella," he said bluntly. "Too much to want you to share this life with me."

"I love you, too. Enough to want to share in the insanity."

He studied my face for a long moment. "Why?"

"Why not? I'm already used to it. The car accident is a fluke. Seriously, you shouldn't be mean to me right now. I'm recovering from surgery."

He smiled slowly at that. "You are remarkably vocal for what you've just been through."

"Just imagine how I'll be when I'm fully recovered. Try and break up with me then. You're stuck with me, Cullen. I'm like herpes: I won't ever go away completely."

He laughed then and leaned down and kissed me. "Well, I never thought my profession of love would be to you as you lay battered and bruised in a hospital room."

"Yeah, this isn't exactly how I imagined it either," I admitted. I could feel pain starting to creep in on me now and I shifted slightly in the bed, grimacing as pain shot from my toes to the roots of my hair. I froze and grinned.

"Edward. I can feel my toes."

He grinned. "Fantastic. They were worried since you couldn't feel your legs earlier."

"You're telling me. It would have been really hard to chase you down if I was a paraplegic."

He was holding my hand again. "You want me to go get the doctor?"

"I'm sure he'll be in here in a minute. Stay with me until they make you leave."

He nodded and pulled a chair over closer to the bed and kept a grip on my hand. We sat and just looked at each other. As bad as Edward looked, I was sure I looked worse. I wanted to know but was afraid to ask for a mirror. I'd see myself eventually, but there was no need to see it now.

"Bella, glad to see you're awake." We looked up as Ben came in the door then, a huge smile on his face. "Your surgery went well and you'll make a complete recovery."

"Fantastic. How soon can I go home?"

He laughed and pulled a pen light out of his lab coat pocket and shined it in my eyes, checking my pupils. "Not soon enough, I'll bet. Probably a week or so."

"A week?" I asked horrified. "Surely you can get me out of here sooner."

"I might, but don't call me Shirley." He winked at me and I rolled my eyes. "Can you feel your legs?"

I nodded. "Yes. They hurt a lot."

"That's because they were both broken."

"That would definitely explain it."

"You'll have casts for a couple of months, but you'll be fine after."

I nodded and moved my arms carefully to push my hair back. Edward reached up for me and gathered my hair in his hand, twisting a hair tie around it for me. I grinned at him.

"I'd like to check your incision now. Mr. Cullen, if you could leave."

"He can stay," I said firmly. "He's seen it all before and he'll see this eventually."

Ben opened his mouth to say something.

"It's useless to argue with her when she's made up her mind," Edward chuckled. "She's the most determined woman I've ever met. It's annoying."

"You know you love it." I closed my eyes as the pain started to intensify.

Ben was chuckling now. "Is she always like this?"

"She is. I'd advise you let her out sooner to save yourself some trouble."

"Listen to him. He's a wise wise man." I grimaced as Ben lifted my gown and started to lightly press on my stomach.

"Are you in much pain?"

"Yes. A lot."

He nodded and pulled my gown back down and the blankets back up. He turned to the machine beside me and adjusted something. A few moments later, I felt a wonderful warmth spreading through my veins. I sighed and looked up at Ben.

"Edward, I may just let you dump me and shack up with this wonderful man here instead."

Ben grinned. "Unfortunately for you, I'm happily married. You'll have to stay with the movie star."

"Oh rats." My voice was slurred and everything was getting hazy. "I think I'll sleep now if that's ok," I managed.

"Sleep and heal," Edward murmured, bending over to kiss me lightly. I nodded and closed my eyes. Sleep sounded fantastic right now.

***

"Bella?"

I opened my eyes slowly. My eyelids felt heavy. "Mom?" I rasped. My voice was still shot from the tube and apparently the fussing at Edward. "What are you doing here?"

"You think I'd stay home when my only daughter is in the hospital in Australia?"

I smiled and turned my head. "Hey Dad. How was the flight?"

"Not bad, Baby Girl." He grinned and took my hand carefully in his. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a truck, which, surprisingly, is not what happened."

Mom clicked her tongue. "I don't understand how you can be joking right now. You almost died, Bella."

"But I didn't. I find that a pretty good reason to be cracking jokes." I grabbed the remote and raised my bed so I was sitting. "Where's Edward?"

Mom and Dad exchanged glances. "He left, sweetie."

I felt my blood run cold. "Left? Like, left left or went to the hotel to change?"

"Hotel."

I relaxed and took a couple of deep breaths. "You've got to be more careful how you word things. He tried to break up with me a couple days ago."

"Why?" asked Dad indignantly. "Does he think he'll find someone better than my Bella?"

"Calm down, Charlie," muttered Mom. She turned to me. "Why?"

I grinned and shifted slightly in the bed. It was difficult to move with my legs in casts. "He's afraid of what his lifestyle will do to me. He's afraid something like this will happen again, but that I'll actually die the next time. I can't say that I really blame him, but still. I don't think it's his decision to make."

Mom was quiet. "Well, I suppose he's just trying to look out for your well being. That'd admirable."

"It's ridiculous," I snorted. "I'm fine, really. I'm used to all the insanity at this point."

"What about when you have children?"

I blushed. "Shit, Dad, really? I've been with him for what, six weeks now?"

"I want grandchildren from you. If you're going to be with him for a while, there's likely to be children."

"I'm almost surprised you're not pregnant already," Mom commented. "He's beautiful enough I'd be all over him all the time."

"God Mom, stop."

She laughed and settled in a chair nearby, pulling out some knitting. I stared at it. "Since when do you knit?"

"Since I've got grandchildren. I figured I'd take up some kind of needlework and this doesn't need much stuff other than yarn and needles."

I nodded. "I should really come home more."

"You should." Dad settled in a chair next to her and pulled a Sports Illustrated out of Mom's bag. "So when do you get to go home?"

"I'm not sure. A couple days probably. Edward's going to book us tickets on the first plane out and take me home to Texas."

"Yes, you'll come home with us."

"And Edward?"

"I'm sure he'll come, too. We told him he was welcome."

I nodded and closed my eyes. My stamina was shot to hell and I really wanted to sleep now. "Mind if I take a little nap?"

"Not at all. We'll be here when you wake up."

Dad grunted his agreement. I grinned and lowered my bed. Everything was so much better with my parents here.

***

"I'm fine, Edward," I grumbled. "Would you just let me be?"

"I just want to make sure you're comfortable."

"I'd be more comfortable if you'd just leave me alone. Shit, I just need to recline the seat once we're in the air."

"Bella, sweetie, be nice. He's trying to be sweet."

"Yes, Mother." She hated when I called her Mother.

Edward still looked anxious but he settled in the seat next to me and buckled in. the plane was slowly filling up and they were looking at us curiously. I was starting to get annoyed. My temper was definitely short these days due to the constant pain, but I was working hard on reining it in. Much more staring and I'd lose it and start screaming at people. Edward took my hand in his and squeezed it.

"It'll be fine," he murmured. "We'll be in LA in about 15 hours, then we'll sleep and head home to Dallas the day after."

I smiled at him. "You called Dallas home."

He grinned. "I did."

"Are you thinking of leaving Chicago for Dallas then?"

"Perhaps. There's this girl I'm kind of interested in who has family in the area. I thought I might spend some time with her there."

"Hm. Pity. I was kind of hoping you'd come home with me, but if you've got other plans, I suppose I'll have to make do with someone else."

He grinned and kissed my hand. "Well, can you offer me something she can't?"

"My rapier wit and slovenly ways are all I've got to recommend me. And a really short fuse that results in screaming and swearing. Oh, and sex and pizza."

He chuckled softly. "You had me at slovenly ways."

I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. "So you'll stay for a while?"

"I'll stay forever if you'll have me."

I laughed softly. "Why Edward Cullen, that sounds like a proposal."

"If you'd open your eyes you'd see it is."

I did and looked up at Edward, shocked. He was grinning like an idiot. "I was planning on waiting a few days, maybe until you were walking around, but this works, too."

He was holding a small white suede box in his hand. I stared down at it and then sat up. "Shut up. Are you seriously proposing to me?"

He nodded.

"We've known each other for less than two months."

"I'm ok with that. We can have a long engagement if you'd like."

I looked over at my parents who were sitting across the aisle from us, trying to act like they weren't listening in and failing miserably.

I laughed and shook my head. "Are you out of your damn mind?"

He quirked an eyebrow at me. "No. Are you?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Edward, this is way too fast."

"Everything we've done is fast. It's not like I'm saying marry me when we land in LA or have my child in the next year, I'm just asking you to agree to an engagement."

He had a point. I held out my hand and he put the box in my palm. I opened it and studied the ring inside.

"Of course it would be gorgeous."

He grinned and pulled it out, slipping it on my finger. I sighed and look at him. "Are you trying to seduce me with jewelry?"

"That depends. Is it working?"

I laughed softly. "A little. If I say yes, I've got some terms."

"Alright."

"No wedding until we've known each other for a little while. I get to say when."

"Agreed."

"I want a small wedding. Just the two of us and immediate friends and family."

"Definitely agreed."

I grinned at him. "And you still owe me that trip to a private island in the Caribbean, so that's what I want for my honeymoon."

"Hell, we can make that the entire wedding."

I smiled and reached up, touching the ugly red scar along his hairline. "I'm sorry your face is scarred."

"I'm sorry your legs are broken and your belly is scarred."

"Well, I plan on telling people I was injured in a bar fight. We should go to a bar and take some pictures to back that up."

He grinned. "I think my injuries are more in line with a bar fight than yours."

"I'm just a total badass is all."

"Very true." He studied my face. "So?"

I laughed. "Is there any real doubt that I'd say yes?"

He grinned. "No, not really. You just like to tease me. I like it." He leaned forward and kissed my neck right where my jaw met my ear. "Keep doing it."

"Forever."

***

I sat back in my chair and sighed contentedly. "She's beautiful, Alice," I smiled, looking down at the tiny bundle in my arms. "I'm frankly surprise, given what you had to work with."

Alice beamed at me. "Yeah, I guess my gorgeousness outweighed Jasper."

"Hey now," he protested. "I can't be that much of an ogre or you wouldn't have given me the time of day."

"I met you in a bar. I'd have given you the time of day if you were Quasimodo if I thought it would get me a free drink."

I looked down at the baby. "You are so screwed. You'll have to come hang out with Aunt Bella and Uncle Edward for some sanity."

"Yeah, sure, she'll go to the movie star and his wife for sanity," Jasper laughed. "You'll screw her up even more than we will."

"No we won't. We'll just show her the finer things in life and teach her life skills like how to avoid the press and how to give vague interviews with just enough information to shut them up but not enough to spill any beans." I looked down at the baby. "What are you going to name her anyway?"

"I like Abra, what you were supposed to be named, but boyo here wants to name her after his grandmother, Louise."

"Edwina sounds like a great name to me."

We looked up as Edward entered the room, pulling a wig and cap off as he did so. I grinned.

"Seriously? Edwina is just about the most horrendous thing I've ever heard."

"I like it," offered Jasper.

"See, that proves it."

Edward grinned and sat in the chair beside me and looked over at her. "Well, how about Antonia?"

"No. We're not naming our baby after you."

"You so would have if it had been a boy," I teased.

Alice flushed and I laughed. She didn't want to admit that she'd seriously thought about naming a son Edward after Edward Cullen. That is, until she met Edward Cullen and he ended up becoming a part of her life.

"How about Abra Louise?" I offered. "It's the best of both worlds."

They stared at me and Alice sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. I just really hate Louise. It's an old lady name."

"Well, my grandmother is an old lady."

"And someday, she will be too," pointed out Edward.

Alice made a face at him and held out her arms for the baby. I passed her on to Edward who grinned down at the tiny thing before passing her on to her mother. Alice studied her daughter.

"Abra Louise. I can dig it."

Jasper sat on the bed beside her and studied his daughter. "We don't have to tell many people her middle name is Louise."

I laughed and shook my head. "You two are nuts."

"Yeah yeah." Jasper kissed Alice's temple. "It's what we do best."

I looked up at Edward. "What do we do best?"

"Inappropriate jokes?"

"Snarky."

He grinned. "Definitely snarky." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "You ready to go home?"

I nodded. "So ready. It's time for more drugs I think. Everything hurts."

"Don't you go getting dependent on me now," Alice warned me as Edward started to push me out of the room.

"Oh but drug dependence is the sign of celebrity," I whined. "Plus, it makes me feel so happy."

"Yeah, I like her happy and compliant. It makes everything so much easier."

"So you're essentially roofying yourself?" laughed Jasper.

"Hey, whatever works."

"Be safe," shouted Alice as Edward pushed me down the hallway towards the elevator.

I tilted my head back and looked up at him. "So how was your afternoon?"

"Not too bad," he smiled, tugging on a lock of hair. "I was able to get out of some of the promotional stuff, but I've still got to show up for the next movie."

"When's that?"

"Saturday. I'm supposed to be in Cairo Friday afternoon for acclimation or something."

I nodded and stared at the walls of the elevator. "So, I'll be home without you for how long?"

He was quiet. "I think three weeks."

I grimaced. "Well, by the time you get back, I should be dancing again."

"You danced before?"

I laughed. "Once, with you, remember?"

"You're not allowed to dance like that with anyone else."

"Yeah yeah. What if I get the urge?"

"Call me."

I laughed again. "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I'll call you in Egypt and you can fly home for the weekend for a roll in the hay."

"I'd do it. Just try me."

I grinned. "Maybe I will."

***

I stumped around the house noisily. I was going to walk sooner rather than later, dammit, if it was the last thing I did. Two months on my butt was not working for me. I needed activity and movement.

"Bella?" I turned and saw Rose squinting at me from the hallway. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"I'm walking," I beamed at her.

"Its 3 am."

"I know."

"Go to bed."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm expecting a call from Edward in a bit. He's about to go to lunch."

She shook her head and shuffled off. "Don't wake Emmett. He can be grumpy."

I saluted her back. She flipped me off. I had no idea how she did that. It must be a teacher/parent thing.

I stumped into my room and collapsed on my bed, pulling my laptop onto my lap and scrolling through my email for the millionth time. I didn't get much overnight, but I'd already watched most of my DVDs and read most of my books. I was going stir crazy here and could not wait for the doctor visit tomorrow when I was hopefully getting my casts off.

My room was a disaster area. There were dirty clothes everywhere along with the aforementioned books and DVDs. Lucky for me, it was June so the heat made it preferable to wear skirts. I still tried to get into shorts once in a while and in my frustration would throw them across the room. I was definitely looking forward to showering again without assistance, shaving my legs, and going for a jog. I hated jogging or really, any form of activity that involved sweating, well, with one notable exception, but I was ready to go jogging.

My Skype bonged at me and I fairly bounced in my seat. I clicked accept and a moment later, Edward's face filled the screen. He grinned at me.

"Hello gorgeous. How are you?"

"Bedridden. Rose yelled at me for making so much noise."

He laughed. "Casts come off tomorrow, right?"

I nodded. "I'm going to come home, take a shower and shave and then go for a jog."

"A jog? Really?"

"Sure, why not?"

"You hate running."

"I hate sitting more. Tell me about filming."

He grinned. "God I miss you."

"How is that about filming?"

He laughed. "'Yes, I miss you too, Edward. I think about you when I touch myself.'" He mimicked me horribly.

"'Oh Bella, no, I think of you when I touch myself. I adore you and can't wait to make you mine again.'"

"Your British accent is still better than mine. I don't understand it."

"Have you been working on it?"

"Of course. I use it every day in hopes that it will improve."

"Keep working on it, bucko. So…filming?"

He grinned. "It's hot. Every part of me is sweating constantly. I'm becoming dangerously dehydrated."

"Drink lots of fluids."

"I drink like a fish and sweat like…something incredibly sweaty. Never again, Bella."

I laughed and leaned back against my pillows. "So next time you'll go someplace icy?"

"No, because then I'll freeze off parts of my anatomy that I'm actually quite fond of. You're fond of them, too, if I recall."

I frowned. "I'm not sure about that. I haven't seen or accessed them in a while. They may be boring to me now."

"Alright, that's it. I'm coming home so my parts and your parts can become reacquainted."

I laughed as he made to stand up. "Oh calm down. You'll be home in a couple of weeks and we'll get reacquainted then."

"Not soon enough."

"I'm not sending you dirty pictures, Edward."

"You did a couple weeks ago."

"Yes, and I'm regretting that. No more."

He sighed. "Tease."

"You told me to do it."

He grinned. "I did."

We sat in silence, just looking at each other. "You know," I said suddenly "I never got fun pictures of just us taken. They're all from premieres and photographers lurking in the shadows."

"We'll have some when I'm home, I promise."

"We'd better. I'm holding you to it."

"I'll just hold you."

"Oh stop, you're going to make me cry."

He grinned and glanced down at his watch. "I've got to go, I have to get to make up. I sweat it all off on an hourly basis."

I nodded. "Next time cyber sex?"

He laughed and nodded. "Definitely."

"I love you Edward Cullen."

"I love you Bella Swan."

***

I felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out of my lungs the moment I stepped out of the airport. I immediately understood what Edward meant about sweating everywhere since there was no longer a dry part of my body. I tightened my grip on my bag and headed for the line of taxis. Hopefully I'd find someone who spoke English.

At the time, flying to Cairo to surprise Edward had been a brilliant idea. In reality, it was concerning. I hated flying alone and trying to maneuver in a foreign country where I didn't speak the language was a little unnerving.

"Do you speak English?" I asked anxiously.

The cab driver nodded. "I speak well English," he beamed at me.

I grinned back and climbed in, holding my bags in my lap. I gave him the name of Edward's common lunch restaurant and he set off, weaving in and out of traffic like a maniac. I had a brief flashback but this man seemed a lot more in control. He pulled up to the restaurant and I fished the appropriate amount out of my pocket and passed it over. He nodded and smiled at me as I climbed out and headed inside.

It was dark and smelled exotic. It was the only word I could think to describe it. I glanced around and grinned when I saw the familiar bronze head in the back corner of the restaurant, facing away from the door. I felt a momentary skitter of nerves that maybe it wasn't Edward, but brushed that aside. How many men would there be in this restaurant at this time with bronze hair?

I slid into a seat across from him and set my bags on the floor. "So what's good here?"

"Everything I've had so far," he replied absentmindedly. "What are you in the mood for?"

I grinned and reached over, taking the menu out of his hands. "A hello might be nice."

Edward looked up at me then, his eyes unfocused at first. He stared for a beat before his face broke into a big grin.

"Bella?"

I laughed. "Who did you think I was?"

"I had no idea." He stood up and pulled me out of my chair, kissing me soundly. "What are you doing here?"

"Hopefully you," I teased. "I thought I'd pop over and see you, maybe do some sightseeing while I'm here."

He grinned and sat down, pulling me into his lap and pressing his face against my neck. "You smell divine."

I laughed. "I haven't showered in hours, I probably smell like airports and airplanes and sweaty cabs. You weren't lying about the heat." I ran my fingers through his hair affectionately. "How much longer do you have to work today?"

"Just a couple more hours."

I nodded and smiled at him, kissing his jaw and hugging him tightly. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too."

I sighed softly and closed my eyes. "So do I go to the hotel to wait or the trailer?"

"Wherever you want to go. Stand up real quick so I can check out your legs."

I laughed and stood up, turning in a small circle for him. "Not bad, eh?"

"Not bad at all," he grinned, pulling me back down into his lap.

***

"It's time to go."

"I'm reconsidering this."

"No, it's too late for that."

I gritted my teeth. "It's not too late. I can still back out."

"If you back out, I will personally kill you."

I glared at Alice. "Wow, nice pep talk."

"I'm just sayin'. You are not allowed to back out."

I sighed and looked to Rose for help. She shook her head. "I'm on Alice's side here. What's the point in backing out?"

"Because something like 50% of marriages end in divorce?"

"You're too stubborn to get divorced."

"But why risk it? What if he catches me in a weak moment?"

"Around Edward, you're nothing _but_ weak moments."

"Seriously, you're six months pregnant. If you were going to dump Edward, you missed the boat."

I scowled. "Damn him and his super sperm."

"Why do you keep saying that? The pill is only like, 95% effective. You know that."

"Shut up."

Rose laughed and slipped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me over to the mirrored wall. "Look at yourself, Bella, you're gorgeous. Lots of curves and hair and glowing skin. Seriously, Edward is going to go ape-shit when he sees you."

I sighed and studied myself. I was wearing a flowy white dress that came just to my knees and my hair was loose around my shoulders. There were some white flowers tucked into my hair. The dress was eerily like the dress I'd worn in the white place when I thought I was dead. The girls were on either side of me in similarly styled dresses, though Alice was in green and Rose was in blue.

"Alright, let's do this before my baby pushes me down the aisle," I grumbled.

Alice beamed and turned, picking up Abra and started out the door. Rose grinned and linked her arm in mine as we headed out the door.

It was warm and beautiful outside, the sand warm from the day's heat under our bare feet. Dad slipped his arm in mine as Rose headed up to stand by Alice. Jasper and Emmett were on the other side, flanking Edward.

Edward. He was grinning like an idiot, the wind playing with his hair and blowing his loose white shirt against his chest. He was wearing khaki colored linen pants with the cuffs rolled up and his feet were bare. I grinned back at him and felt the baby inside me do a little flip. Mom and my brothers were all standing with their wives and children on one side and Edward's parents and family were on the other. That was it, this was all we needed: each other and our loved ones.

Dad walked me up to Edward and passed me on, planting a kiss square on my mouth. I grinned up at him, a few tears coming into my eyes. He beamed down at me, a few tears glistening in his own eyes.

The service was short and sweet, spoken quickly so that it kept pace with the sun setting behind us. Edward pulled me close to his chest and kissed me firmly, officially my husband.

***

Life with Edward Cullen was never dull. His popularity waned some after the series was completed, but we were always press favorites, always photographed wherever we went. Our children grew up used to the popping lights and shouted questions. Rob, our oldest, took after me in that he started bribing the press. We didn't realize he was doing it until I questioned him on why we were always running out of fruit snacks.

I wasn't able to go back to the library, but I was content to be Edward Cullen's wife and mother to his children and occasionally performed puppet shows for children's birthday parties for fun. Of course, they were always the children of other celebrities, but that was alright with me.

We lived part time in Texas and part time in Chicago. I definitely preferred Texas, as did Edward. Apparently, there we had a bit more anonymity. Texans seemed to take it in stride after a while. We were even able to go out occasionally without being mobbed.

"Mama, tell me a story," demanded my youngest, Hero. She'd been named after the character from Shakespeare's _Much Ado About Nothing_ and her brothers loved to tease her about that. I didn't get it, they were named after literary characters and authors as well.

"What kind of story, Baby Girl?" I asked, pulling her up into the bed beside me.

She snuggled down next to me and started to finger the sheets. "A scary story."

I raised my eyebrows. "Scary?"

She nodded. "But really scary, not stupid like the boys tell me."

I grinned and set my book aside. This one was a handful at times. Five years old and she loved scary movies and pulling pranks on her older brothers. They never saw it coming from their angelic little sister.

I started describing Stephen King's _It_ and she was rapt. Her fingers gradually stilled and her eyelids drooped. She finally fell asleep after about fifteen minutes. I shifted slightly and picked up my book again, reading from where I'd left off.

An hour or so later Edward came home from his dinner meeting. He leaned over and kissed me lightly.

"How were they tonight?"

I laughed softly. "Find. Rob was terrorizing Will and then the two ganged up on Hero."

He grinned and studied her curled up beside me. "So should I move her or leave her?"

"I'd say let her be. She won't want to sleep in here for much longer."

He nodded and pulled his shirt off, tossing it into the laundry basket.

"How was your meeting?" I asked, putting my book on my bedside table.

"Pretty good. I think I've got an audition at least."

I grinned. "That's great."

He nodded. "It's a brilliant rewrite. I'm really excited about it."

"And you should be. They'll be lucky to have you. You won't even have to fake the British accent like the others will."

He laughed softly and crawled into the bed beside me, kissing my shoulder. "This is definitely true." He rested his chin on my shoulder and looked down at Hero. "Are you sure you don't want another?" he slipped a hand under the covers and moved it down my body and under the waistband of my pajama pants.

I laughed and pushed his hand away. "Even if I did, we are not having sex while our daughter is sleeping in the same bed."

He laughed again and rolled away. "Can't blame me for trying."

"Not at all." I reached up and turned off the light, scooting down in the bed and pulling Hero to my chest. "Good night Edward Cullen."

"Good night Bella Cullen."

"Good night MommyDaddy," murmured Hero.

"Good night Baby Girl," I whispered, kissing her hair.

***

Tali: Yeah, I know, it's rushed. Sorry. I'm working on something else and I really had no other thoughts on where this should go.

My niece refers to her parents occasionally as MommyDaddy, all one word. I like it, it's like they're one unit instead of two separate, as parents should try to be.

Hope you like the ending! I feel like I'm great at beginning and suck at ending…lol Thanks for taking this little bizarre trip with me! Catch you in the next story!


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